Persona: Rage Against the Heavens
by 300 I.Q. Prower
Summary: College is often regarded as the changing point in one's life. For Ryuko Ashina, her transfer to Yaso-Ikari is no different. On the outset, it seems like her transfer is going to be like many others. However, in the city of Osaka, another world lays beneath. A world of Shadows. Unknowingly caught up in this other world's, Ryuko will soon find a world of darker secrets.
1. Chapter 1

**AN(P): Prower here. This is a story cowritten with AGNerd-Bot and tbh is moreso his story than mine. My other stories are going to continue despite all the snags I've hit with solo-writing, and this chapter, potentially the next few but no guarantees, are being uploaded so we have some feedback on this story. So yeah, reviews VERY much appreciated! Cast is at the end.**

**AN(N): Nerd-Bot here! You wouldn't believe how much it took to convince Prower to work with me on this. I know, I know, I have a lot of stuff on my plate, with my Yu-Gi-Oh! GX story, my new Danganronpa story, and the stuff on my DeviantArt Page, but hey, I've had this idea in my brain, and I knew just the dude to write with!**

* * *

"_Welcome…"_

"_What…"_ someone thought to herself. _"Is… is the train ride over already?"_ Blinking several times, a girl sat up, looking around groggily. She was a somewhat short girl, with messy brown hair that ran down to her shoulders. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked around the area. "...this isn't the train."

She found herself on a luxurious couch made of velvet, and even wearing shoes could feel the substance under her feet as well. Despite the atmosphere practically radiating the stuff, though, red was nowhere to be seen; the entire place was shades of blue from turquoise to cerulean to a deep navy blue. Echoing throughout the place was music that, like everything else, took a moment to properly sink in. to her left was a towering figure dressed in a blue bartender's outfit mixing drinks behind a bar, their back to the rest of the area. To the girl's right was a far more… interesting, sight. A woman in an elevator attendant's clothes, deep blue (naturally), was at a massive music system of speakers, vinyls, and instruments, a clearly outdated clip on headphone attached to one ear and a soothing electronica melody echoing throughout the area, just audible enough to be omnipresent without overtaking any possible conversation.

Lastly, in front of her was a short man with a cheshire grin, absurdly long nose, and bulging eyes. It became clear he was the one who'd addressed her as he sat waiting expectantly, a deck of cards in front of him on the table between the two.

The girl suddenly began scuttling backwards. "W-what the hell?! Who the hell are you guys?!" She looked around the room in a panic. "Where am I?! What did you-"

_SLAM!_

The sound of a fist impacting against wood interrupted her panicked talking. "SHADDUP!" The bartender glared angrily at her, his eyes sending shivers down her spine. "Let Boss Big Nose talk!"

Despite his expression not wavering, there was a hint of exasperation of "Big Nose"'s face. "Pardon him. He's not as restrained as our other attendants…" The man somehow grinned even wider. "Now then! As I was saying, Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter…" The girl suddenly realized there was a pen and paper in front of her, though she could swear there hadn't been anything on the table besides the cards. "It is a place only those bound by contract may enter. Why don't you _introduce_ yourself?" He gestured towards the paper, which was an impossibly long message with a name entry space at the bottom. "It's a simple contract, one that simply asks you take responsibility for your actions, and accept the path you walk."

The girl picked up the contract with hesitation, silently looking at the ridiculous amount of words on the page. "...who are you?" She finally asked. "Why are you talking to me of all people?" She looked up at Igor. "I'm just… I'm just a college student, shouldn't you be taking your back-alley deals to someone else?"

The man simply continued to smile. "Ah, how rude of me to forget introductions…" At all times he kept one hand under his chin while gesturing with the other. "I am Igor. The young gentleman is our newest member Alexander, and Elizabeth has been with us for quite some time now...I'm sure you'll grow to know each of them within due time." With a simple wave the cards arranged themselves on the table. "Do you believe in fortune telling?"

The girl shook her head. "No… my mom always told me it was a scam."

The cars shuffled themselves as Igor continued. "Each reading is done with the same cards, yet the result is always different, whether it be the arrangement of cards or their interpretation…" The man chuckled eerily. "Can one not argue life is no different?"

A card flipped over, revealing an illustration with the roman numeral for twelve. "For the immediate future, the hanged man in an upright position…and for the long term…?" Another card revealed itself, this one upside down with the roman numeral for seven. "VERY interesting." Igor mused. "The chariot in reverse!"

In a flash, all but the revealed cards returned to the deck. "It seems you will soon make one if not many crucial decisions! The decisions you make will no doubt impact you for a very long time. Even if you make the best decisions, however, you will face _immense_ opposition. You'll no doubt feel lost at times, but I wonder if you have it in you to walk the right path?" At the last line the contract once again appeared in the girl's hands, but this time it was a single sentence: "_Walk the paths you choose."_

For several minutes, the girl stared silently at the contract in her hands, before a smirk appeared on her face. "Walk my own path? Do you even have to ask?" Grabbing the pen, she signed the contract, her name revealing itself to the Velvet Room Denizens.

_**Ryuko Ashina**_

There was a disorienting flash and the world began to spin. "Splendid!" Igor boomed, his words the only thing Ryuko could register. "Now, as our guest, we are naturally obligated to provide you with whatever services we can provide. This coming year will be a turning point in your life, do not forget that! The nature of this place will become clear once the nature of your _power_ manifests. Until then…"

Suddenly sound disappeared along with sight and thought, and everything went black.

* * *

A voice from a PA woke Ryuko. "Now arriving at OSAKA station, OSAKA station…"

"Gah!" Ryuko woke up with a start, nearly falling out of her seat and into the aisles. Groaning, she held her head. "The Hell was that dream…? Something about a bar…?" At the sound of the PA's voice, Ryuko turned to look out the windows. "So… this is Osaka?"

The city was at an early hour and already busy as could be, the streets lined with people both cummutor and vendor, the station positioned such that in the distance a certain island could be seen, connected to the mainland only by a single large bridge. Ryuko checked the handout the college had sent her. "_According to this all the stuff I packed will be in my room by the time I get there…"_

She eventually wandered over to a less crowded area, before taking in the sights of Osaka. In one direction, the mighty Osaka Castle stood, overlooking the city like a mighty beacon, drawing all near to its massive presence. Near the bay area, the gigantic Tempozan Ferris Wheel stood, in the midst of the bustling Harbor Village. In the inner city, the twin towers, Tsūtenkaku and Kobe stood like fearsome titans, getting ready to glow with bright lights when night fell. Ryuko grinned as she gazed across Osaka. "Hey, Osaka! Say hello to Ryuko Ashina!"

"Hi there!"

"GYACK!" Ryuko nearly jumped ten feet in the air in shock. "What the-?!"

To her side, one hand behind his back and waving innocently, was a young, olive-skinned man no taller than her with grey-white, faintly blonde hair, and an INCREDIBLY bishounen face and figure. He wore a white, loose-fitting, button-up uniform shirt and equally loose fitting jeans. Despite the girl's reaction he just smiled happily. "I knew you'd be here! My spirit guides never let me down!"

"Spirit… guides…?" The girl said incredulously. _"Oh my god, he's one of those freaky cult people… Mom and dad warned me about these types in the city!"_

The boy, with his appearance it was honestly difficult to think of him as a grown man, extended a discolored hand black as charcoal towards Ryuko. "I'm Namiko! Namiko Elsamni! I know what you're thinking, it's an Egyptian surname." Upon inspection one could indeed see the boy's complexion reflected traces of Egyptian or Arabic bloodline.

"_His hand… that burn doesn't look natural. What happened to the guy?"_

"You said your name is Ryuko Ashina?"

"Yeah…" Ryuko nodded, now that the boy wasn't acting all culty, she calmed down. "So, you're Namiko, right?" She then flashed a charming grin. "Hey, Namiko, I have a question…"

The boy brightened at that. "Sure! What is it?"

She snapped her fingers at Namiko. "Is that a mirror in your pocket? Because I can definitely see myself in your pants!" As Namiko stared blankly at her, Ryuko grinned even wider. _"Perfect. I'm so smooth, he's speechless!"_

"...so THAT was what the warning was about." Namiko finally said aloud. "I suppose in the long run it'll be fine, though…" he added, hand to his chin in thought. Out of nowhere his pupils contracted and he struck the air with intent to kill. "NOT NOW YOU DAMNABLE-!"

Surprisingly, no one in the crowds even paid the spectacle any mind, leaving only Ryuko staring in bewilderment and slight fear. Before Namiko pulled out an unusual looking glove and put it on his right hand. "...sorry about that, Ryuko-san, every gift has its curse, that kind of thing…" immediately he returned to his radiant self, eager to move past whatever it was that had happened. "Or wait, should I call you Ryuko-chan instead?"

"Wait, what?!" Ryuko cried out incredulously. "Wait, wait, wait, when the hell did we become friends?! First you freak out after I drop an awesome pick-up line, and now you're calling me -chan outta nowhere?"

Namiko looked disappointed. "I...I just told you though, our spirits have a tether between them! We're soul mates!"

Ryuko looked down at her hand in surprise. "Are my pick-up lines that amazingly powerful…?"

Namiko had a visible realization. "Oh, no, no no no, I mean platonically! I'm quite serious, our destiny is heavily tangled! My guides almost never unanimously agree on things, yet they did just that about meeting a girl transferring to my college with dark brunette hair, short stature, and yelling at the city." Again, the boy extended his hand. "So yeah, like I said: I'm Namiko! Pleased to meet you!"

Ryuko raised a tentative hand. "Sure…" She grabbed onto Namiko's hand and pumped it once. "Name's Ryuko. Guess it's nice to meet you too!" She turned back to her luggage. "Hey, mind helping a girl out? I'm new here, so I don't exactly know the directions around."

Before she could even turn back to the boy, he was picking up her carry-on bag, albeit struggling greatly to lift it, and smiling at her. "No problem! What are friends for? C'mon, I know a great place to hit up on the way to campus, classes don't start for another 2 days and they're REALLY lenient about last minute arrivals, so you can pretty much just relax these last couple of days."

Ryuko smirked. "Sounds good to me!" She walked after Namiko, putting her hands behind her head. "...you're paying right?"

* * *

"...THERE." Namiko exclaimed as he finally let down the bag...and others filled with various foods. "Welcome to Yaso-Ikari University's student housing, Ryuko-chan!"

Surprisingly, it was a genuinely impressive sight; the student housing was incredibly high end and fully refurbished even on the exterior. "Yaso-Ikari is a pretty small scale community, so the fact that they charge just as much to get in means that all those funds go to making things that much more high end. At least, that's what that welcoming speech said…"

As Ryuko grabbed her main carry on, still struggling to understand why Namiko had so much trouble with it, she walked into the first floor of her dorm, which surprised Namiko.

"Wait, this dorm specifically is yours?"

"Yep!" Ryuko said, before fishing in her pockets. "Where did I put those damn keys…" She tossed out several old receipts, before finally pulling out a small lanyard. "Here we go!" She turned back to Namiko. "Hey, thanks man! You're not as weird as you act."

The boy smiled wide. "We're in the same dorm! Weird, the spirits didn't mention that-" He registered the latter part and quickly became flustered. "Wait, I'm not?!"

"Nope! You're actually pretty cool. Though you don't know good pick-up lines when they're said straight to your face." Ryuko unlocked her room, before flashing Namiko a smile. "Wanna hang out again sometime?"

"Are...are you sure?" The boy asked, for the first time voice faltering. "I mean, yes! It's just most people-"

"Yeah sure," Ryuko replied nonchalantly. "Besides, we're 'soul mates' or whatever, right?"

"Yeah...yeah, we are!" Namiko finally replied, looking even happier than when he'd first appeared. "I'm on the top floor, 3 doors down from the stairwell on the right, if you ever need me don't hesitate to try and find me!"

With that, the boy ran on ahead, smile still on his face. As Ryuko looked to her door, she realized she could faintly hear music on the other side despite the soundproofing, although she couldn't understand a word of it.

"Oh yeah, my roommate's supposed to be a foreigner or something," Ryuko realized. Smirking, she ran a hand through her hair. "Guess it's time to lay on some of that classic Ryuko charm!" Lifting her bags up, she grasped the doorknob, before something on the other side caused her to be pulled in the moment she grabbed the door.

"Oy, someone out he-WOAH!"

There was a crash and Ryuko found herself lying across a redheaded girl, pinning her.

"Guh… what happened?" Ryuko muttered groggily, completely caught off guard by the redhead.

"GET ...OFFA ME!" said redhead cried before Ryuko found her entire body being lifted up and tossed on an empty bed, the redhead dusting it off like it was nothing. "Geez…"

"Woah!" Ryuko slammed onto the bed with a thud, her entire world turning upside down. As she lay there, she finally got a good look at the redhead. "Hey…" she suddenly paused, before pulling out a small notebook.

The redhead just stared. "So first you flatten me, now you wanna recite your diary? You're a real piece of work, ya know tha-"

Suddenly, Ryuko snapped her fingers at the girl. "You know, I've always wanted to date a natural redhead. Mind if I check if I can cross it off my bucket list?"

**WHAM**

Ryuko's response was having her bag flung at her, hitting her square in the head. "NO!" the redhead barked, two seconds away from the next thing she threw being her fists.

"Oww… I thought that was a good one…" Ryuko groaned as the bag lay atop her face. Shaking her head, she sat up. "What was that for?!"

"WHADDYA THINK YA **CHEEKY TART**?!"

The redhead sighed and took a deep breath, Ryuko unaware how close she was to a concussion. "Honestly, why does everyone around here have to be so WEIRD?!"

Seeing that the girl seemed genuinely upset, Ryuko decided to stand up, before tapping the girl on the shoulder. "Hey, look. I'm sorry. We got off the wrong foot." For once, her tone wasn't angry or flirtatious, but genuine embarrassment. "C'mon, we're roommates, right? Why shouldn't we get along?" She then extended a hand, smiling. "Name's Ryuko Ashina. First year."

The redhead blinked before calming down surprisingly quick, returning the gesture. "...Ashely Cael, first year as well, transferred from the states. Nice to meet you Ryuko… san? Is it san or chan? I'm still a bit new to this."

Ryuko grinned at that, before she placed a hand on Ashely's shoulders. "Hey. You can call me whatever you want, pretty lady."

"Okay, NOW you're doing it again." Ashely growled as she raised a fist. It was only then Ryuko realized her right hand was heavily bandaged all the way down to the middle of her forearm.

Ryuko raised an eyebrow at that. "What's this?" She grabbed at the bandaged arm gently, before looking it over. "Did you get injured or something?"

"Huh…? What are you- oh, you mean me wraps." Ashely concluded before shadowboxing as a quick demonstration. "It's not an injury lass, it's for protection! Never know when you'll need to deck someone, and can't go breaking my hand! You know what muay thai is? Been taking it for 4 years straight now!"

"A martial artist, huh?" Ryuko asked. "Well, I love a girl that can kick my ass~" At the glare Ashely gave her, she quickly raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I get it! You're immune to my amazing charms!" She turned her head to the side and pouted. "You're missing out though… turning down human ambrosia like myself!"

She heard a scoff behind her as Ashely went back to her bed, next to which was a vinyl player and evidently the source fo the music from before. "Hope you like music by the way, cause I ain't turnin mine down."

"Vinyl?" Ryuko asked. "Really? I thought you'd just download everything on your phone like most people."

"Yeah, well I left my CDs back in the states," Ashely began, "Always preferred physical to digital. Music, games, you name it. Figured rather than pay to have it shipped over I'd finally get around to starting that vinyl collection I've been meaning to get around here. You know about VInyl-Cycling, right?"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that stuff," Ryuko replied as she leaped onto her bed, the mattress springs making a squeaking sound on impact. "Ya basically take a bunch of records and slap 'em together to make new music, right?"

Ashely raised a finger before deciding against the lecture and nodding. "Sure, that's the incredibly simplified version of it, I suppose. Stuff ain't easy to get, but I guess that's why music buffs take so much pride in their personal collections. ...That and with how much material it takes, most people would rather make a vinyl of something popular to sell off rather than make one of a song you couldn't otherwise get a vinyl of and wouldn't have many buyers if you tried selling it." she got out two records. "That said, fuck em! Why would I go to all the trouble if it weren't even a song I love?!" The two covers she held up were surprisingly very familiar to Ryuko.

"Wait, you got the Devil Trigger song?!" Ryuko asked, grabbing one of the covers and clutching them close to her chest. "Oh my god, this is amazing!"

"Y-You play DMC?" Ashely asked in surprise, visibly exercising restraint.

"You kidding? Who doesn't love Dante? Besides..." Ryuko leaped over to her bags, before pulling out a fight stick. "Never leave home without it! Hey, wanna go for a match? I got Street Fighter, Skullgirls, UMVC3…" she continued to rattle off various fighting games.

"This is a long shot, but...you play Dissidia?" Ashely managed, her eyes shining with excitement.

With a knowing smirk, Ryuko pulled out the game and tossed it to Ashely. "Prepare to have your butt whooped."

At that Ashely looked ready to burst and let out a maniacal laugh. "OH LASSIE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH!"

* * *

It was close to the middle of the night at this point. Both girls had heavy bags under their eyes as they glared at the screen. Two battle-hardened warriors duked it out on the battlefield. One, a psychotic jester that constantly giggled. The other, a muscular shirtless man wielding a massive arrow-shaped sword.

The shirtless man charged forward, slashing with flaming blades, catching the clown in a combo. Ryuko grinned to herself. "THIS IS IT!" The behemoth of a warrior charged forward, aiming a killing headbutt at his opponent!

The jester smirked, and Ashely gained a similar sadistic grin on her face. Before the blow could connect, the clown quickly vanished, hovering away just out of reach. "You're right…" The multicolored combatant let out a psychotic giggle. "THIS IS YOUR END!" The clown then shed his skin, revealing the body of a muscular angel. Three colored gems of red, blue, and green formed behind him. "LIGHT OF JUDGEMENT!" At that, a giant laser of pure energy collapsed down on the swordsman, annihilating him completely.

"_Kefka wins!"_ the television displayed proudly.

"YAT FUCKIN TA!" Ashely exclaimed in an odd combination of english and japanese before doing a massive fist pump.

Ryuko scoffed at that. "Alright, so you won that match… best… how many matches have we gone through by now?"

"13 out of 25, 13-12 game set match WOOHOO!" The redhead exclaimed in full auto before falling back onto her bed and breathing deep. "Ya know ...you're pretty awesome, Ryuko-chan."

Ryuko grinned at Ashely. "You're not too shabby yourself, Ashely-chan. ...huh." Ryuko suddenly blinked in realization. "That's the second time today someone called me 'chan'..."

The redhead didn't seem to hear and kept speaking. "Back home...in the states, I mean, I was sorta in the "popular" crowd. Didn't mean to be, but back there you kinda just got absorbed into it when you're as much an athlete as me. But those people were never REALLY into the things I was. For one they all had shit taste in music…"

"Pfft. How tragic," Ryuko laughed as she set down her controller. "Hey, I bet you got to meet some pretty good-lookin' people though."

"Who gives a shit?" Ashely scoffed. "A pretty face doesn't mean much if they're always using it to bitch and moan."

"Hey, you coulda gotten lucky and scored," Ryuko shot back. "But yeah, a pretty face doesn't excuse a shitty attitude." Letting out a yawn, she jerked a thumb to the TV. "Best 15 outta 31?"

The redhead sat back up, tired but no less passionate. "Damn straight!"

Ryuko grinned back, before starting up the next round, the sounds of the TV filling the rest of their night.

* * *

**Cast:**

**NB: Ryuko, Alexander, npcs**

**IQ: Igor, Elizabeth, Ashely, Namiko**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN(IQ): here's the second chapter, this story's "preview" will last until the typical persona awakening. Always remember that the cast can be checked on my profile**!

* * *

"Uggghhh…" Ryuko whined tiredly as she poked at her breakfast halfheartedly. "So… sleepy…"

A slap on the back from Ashely woke her up. "Welcome to college, mon ami! Place I went to in the states was ten times more busy than your average college, I've mastered the art of 5 hours of sleep operation!" She took a huge bite of pancakes. "Beshishe, ya got today cha get into the schwing-a-things!"

"Ugh, I just wanna sleep…" Ryuko complained, before she inched her face forward to nibble at her waffles.

"Morning Ryuko-chan!" A voice called, groggy but somehow still energetic. Namiko, hair sprawled out as if a white mass with tendrils, the thinner spread causing his hair to be noticeably closer to white than grey-blonde. "Um...h-hi, Ashely-san."

The redhead simply nodded as she downed another bite, focusing on her meal and not choking.

"Hey, Namiko-san," Ryuko muffled through a mouthful of waffle. "You didn't get much sleep either?"

"Actually, I got a full 3 hours!" the boy said with genuine cheer. The two girls then realized he was drinking directly from an entire pitcher of coffee.

"Dude, you need to get some help." Ashely said bluntly.

"Huh? What about?" Namiko asked in obliviousness. Suddenly the boy's eyes glazed over for a moment. "…"

Ryuko turned to Ashely, before turning back to Namiko. "Hey, Namiko? …Namiko? Are you there?" When it became obvious the boy was unresponsive, Ryuko grabbed a piping hot pancake from Ashely's plate and tossed it at his face.

"HEY!" Ashely cried, despite having 4 more pancakes on her plate.

The boy's free, gloved hand shot up and perfectly caught the pastry and the boy's eyes regained their sheen and he looked at the two. "You two…" he murmured aloud, before putting the pastry back without so much as acknowledging it and searching his pockets. "I know I have- AHA!"

Immediately both Ryuko and Ashely had to drop their utensils to catch a small pouch chucked at each of them with an unrecognizable kanji marking on them. "Both of you, keep these on you at all times! It'll ward off malevolent spirits."

Ashely rolled her eyes but pocketed the charm and leaned over to Ryuko. "Just do what he says, it's easier than refusing," she whispered. "And he'll know if you ditch it later…"

Ryuko shrugged at that, before stuffing it into her bag. She gave Namiko a look. "Dude, you gotta lay off the coffee."

Again, Namiko seemed oblivious to the issue. "Why? Did they discover something bad about it?"

Ashely turned to Ryuko again. "That also ain't gonna work. I've been here the past month and he will NOT relent on the coffee thing or the mumbo jumbo."

Namiko looked hurt at that. "It's not "mumbo jumbo," it's spirit channeling!"

"Whatever it is, you seriously need to stop chugging that stuff," Ryuko replied. "Ugh… can't stand coffee."

"Coffee, Energy Drink, high-sugar Soda, s'all the same to me." Ashely remarked. "Won't do you any good when you're beaten and bloodied in a back alley, ya need REAL energy for that."

Both sweatdropped, before Namiko responded. "I… don't need that kind of energy to keep up with my channeling. Besides, meditation is very rejuvenating in itself! How do you think my body can operate with so little pure sleep?"

Without anyone realizing, the redhead had already finished off her meal and waved before walking off without saying anything. Namiko took her seat and sighed. "Sorry… it's probably because I'm here she acted so abrasively."

"You?" Ryuko asked as she continued to munch down her waffles. "What do you mean you? You do something to piss her off?"

Namiko nodded. "I… I was too direct about the spirit haunting her, I suppose." He looked towards the direction the redhead had gone. "She's accompanied by it wherever she goes, and she must be aware; the day I met her I tried to comfort her on it, but only made it worse for her." The boy no longer had his usual smile and was looking down solemnly; he'd clearly made this mistake many times; too many for his liking.

Ryuko patted the white-haired student on the back. "Hey, c'mon. She'll come around. I mean, she looked like she wanted to murder me last night, and now we're already pals!" She wrapped an arm around his neck. "Besides, there's always a chance you could talk things out. Just let your old pal Ryuko help ya, right?"

"R-really?"

"Of course! What're friends for, right?" Ryuko stuffed her last waffle into her mouth. "C'mon, man. Let's go walk around," she said, mouth half full with waffle.

* * *

"...and that's the observatory." Namiko finished as the two ended up almost back where they had started their walk around campus. Already he was back to his normal self, eager to show his new underclassman around.

"Ahh…" Ryuko sighed, now properly awake after the tour. "Thanks Namiko-sa- er, I mean, Namiko-senpai!" She laughed as she poked her fingers together awkwardly. "Right, you're a year above me, aren't you? You're my senpai."

Namiko immediately waved her off. "Nah, don't worry about that. I figured out pretty quickly this place doesn't really do the whole "Senpai" thing, weird as it may seem. There's just such a variety of classes that being a first year, second year, whatever often doesn't actually reflect you having more or less experience in your preferred subject than someone else. A lot of people figured this out and agreed to stop using the term; it's actually kinda made the community a lot more close-knit."

"Really?" Ryuko asked. "Well, that makes things easier on me. Don't have to keep track of years and all that."#

She realized now it was Namiko twiddling his fingers, looking suddenly sheepish. "Um… I didn't properly say this before, but… thank you, Ryuko-chan. For hearing me out and all when I approached you."

"Huh? Sure, why wouldn't I?" Ryuko asked. "Sure, you kinda freaked me out with that whole 'soul mates' thing at first, but you seem like a really cool guy." She shrugged. "At the very least, you don't seem like a cultist who wants to make me a human sacrifice."

Namiko's head dropped as he sighed. "Is that what people really think I look like…?"

Ryuko sweatdropped at that. "Well, to be fair, not many people just immediately open a conversation with 'hey, I got some spirit guides', you know?"

"But it's true! I thought it'd be way scarier if I just started talking about their problems without telling them how I know!"

"You… do that?" Ryuko asked.

Namiko looked at her in confusion. "Should...should I not try and help them?"

"No, I'm not saying that, just…" Ryuko put a hand to her face. "I think I see the problem." She looked at Namiko. "We're gonna be working on you for a while."

* * *

**Go to the Library**

**Go to the Fitness Center**

**Go to the Quad**

…

"Maybe I can find Ashely here…" Ryuko murmured to herself as she entered the Fitness Center. "She's into all that athlete stuff, right?"

Ashely was indeed there, although not exercising. The redhead was going over each piece of equipment and inspecting it thoroughly. At the same time a supervisor was setting up an office to the left of the center's entrance.

**Approach Ashely**

**Approach the Supervisor**

**Go Somewhere Else**

"_Ashely might still be a bit pissed from what happened at breakfast. I can always talk to her when we head back to the dorm anyways."_ Ryuko then walked over to the resident supervisor. He was a tall man, obviously a former fighter himself. He was stout, but his muscle was obvious. On his face was a neatly trimmed gray beard. "Uh, hello?" Ryuko asked.

The man turned around, and he beamed at Ryuko with a wide smile. "Ah, hello! A new student, are you?" He laid a large hand on her head, ruffling it wildly. "Always good to have more fitness enthusiasts here!"

Ryuko's eyes were spinning when the man removed his hand, the roughness of the gesture dazing her slightly. _"How strong is this guy?!"_ Shaking her head, she soon found her balance once more. "I guess you could say that… so I'm guessing you're the supervisor here?"

"Yup!" The man jabbed a thumb in his chest. "The name's Tamotsu Abe! I'm the supervisor, athletics teacher, and coach for the wrestling team here!" He brushed a thumb across his nose. "I don't mean to brag, but I'm also a former MMA Champion!"

"_I can believe that…"_ Ryuko thought as she looked at the man's muscle.

"Now then, let's see…" Tamotsu leaned down, looking over Ryuko. "...yup, we're gonna need a lot of work for you."

"WAIT, WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Ryuko protested.

* * *

Ryuko left to find Ashely gone. "_She must've just been stopping by for a couple minutes, she mentioned how she trains at a gym. Maybe she just wanted to compare equipment?" _The day was still young, the sun only now reaching its apex. "Wow, I got up REALLY early…" Ryuko muttered aloud. "_Maybe I'll try passing time somewhere else…"_

**Go to the Library**

**Go to the Quad**

**Go to the Faculty offices**

…

At the quad there were a surprising number of other students, almost all of them clearly freshman year; the giveaway was the way they were dressed, the first years being much more well-kept than their upperclassman. One upperclassman in particular though didn't seem to care for appearance at all, being dressed in jet black with matted hair and on his back staring into the foliage providing him shade. It mainly stood out because every student gave him a wide berth. As if to parallel him, elsewhere in the courtyard was a clique of fashionistas and athletes; the crowd around them was almost as loud as those at the center of it.

**Talk to the Kid in Jet Black**

**Wade Through the Crowd**

**Go Somewhere Else**

Ryuko shrugged. "_Eh, why not?" _She thought to herself before wading through the crowd with no small amount of force, before someone rudely retaliated by shoving her forward through the front of the crowd and nearly barrelling into one of the girls.

"Hey!" Ryuko looked up to find herself staring into the eyes of a tall girl, roughly her year. It was obvious why the crowd had formed, given her sheer beauty. Her raven locks ran all the way down her back like a river, and her piercing gaze could make any one person melt under her stare. Her body was like that of a professional model, and she had the attitude of one to match. "Ahem." She grabbed Ryuko by the face, glaring at her. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"Uh… yeah, okay. Sorry." Ryuko managed. "_This might've been a poor choice."_

"Okay?!" A voice protested from the crowd. "Don't you know who you're talking to?!"

"That's Hiraku Amaya! She's a professional model!"

"She's the maker and breaker of hearts on campus!"

"SHE'S A GODDESS IN HUMAN FORM!"

Her face getting a bit tired, Ryuko made the mistake of forcing the lady's hand off of her.

At that, the woman glared at Ryuko. "Just stay out of my sight." At that, she raised her foot, before punting Ryuko back into the crowd. Ryuko found herself tossed and turned, before being spat back out of the circle.

The girl stood up and dusted herself off, scowling. "Why, again, did I think that would go any better than it did…?" she asked herself before deciding she'd already spent enough time in the quad for one day.

**Go to the Library**

**Go to the Faculty offices**

**Go back to the dorm for the day.**

Ryuko walked into the library and, to no surprise, it was barren. "_Classes haven't even started yet, makes sense no one is here…" _

That being said, two people caught her eye. In a massive bean bag chair, practically absorbed into it, was a figure in an oversized hoodie, despite the person not being small in stature. They had equally baggy longpants and glasses tinted pitch black, presumably one way. It was impossible to determine their gender or estimate their age as they sat with face buried in a massive textbook.

Much more normal looking was a young man with frizzled hair and incredibly well kept clothing and facial features, working away at mathematics. He had several open textbooks for an equal number of subjects and seemed to be systematically working his way through each.

**Go to the beanbags**

**Go to the tables**

At the sight of the comfortable looking beanbag chairs, Ryuko couldn't help herself. Taking a running start, the girl leaped onto another large beanbag chair, sighing contentedly to herself at the soft cushiony seat.

The person jumped, although any noise he made was muffled by the beanbags as he turned to see who had football tackled the space next to him.

"Hey there!" Ryuko called out. "How's it going?"

There was a simple grunt in acknowledgment, deep enough to confirm it was a male, with said male visibly trying not to look towards Ryuko.#

Ryuko, being Ryuko, wasn't so easily swayed. "Hey, c'mon! Hasn't anyone ever told you to tell your name when someone asks you?" She then looked at his face. As she squinted, she could see the faint image of bandages. "Or are those wraps also covering your mouth?"

"I can speak through them just fine." The boy finally replied, turning to Ryuko and lowering the book allowing her to see that he did in fact have white bandages around everything below his eyes, layered perfectly such that it was as if he had the jaw of a mummy. His glasses were perfectly circular and tinted so dark that on Ryuko's side it was impossible to see his eyes. The part of his face that wasn't covered by bandages was incredibly pale, and judging from his clothes it was likely due to lack of sunlight.

Ryuko blinked, surprised by the boy's appearance. "Okay… didn't expect that. What, you looking for auditions as a horror movie villain?" she joked.

After an awkward silence the boy let out a dry chuckle. "Suppose that was better than trying to tiptoe around things like most people. Guess if you're willing to acknowledge it, I'll address it too." He reached behind his ear, his hands had skin tight, extremely thin, grey gloves on, and pulled out a bluetooth device for an audiobook. He showed Ryuko the contents of his book and she immediately saw there were only diagrams, no words. "You can piece it together, I'm sure."

Ryuko's smile dropped. "Oh… sorry about the dumb joke." She rubbed the back of her head bashfully. "Kinda in poor taste then, right?"

"Actually, it was pretty refreshing!" The boy replied, much to Ryuko's surprise. "Normally people only make jokes about it purely out of malice, not as a poorly attempted icebreaker, and those that don't address it patronizingly act like nothing is abnormal about my _ridiculous _gettup." The boy extended his hand. "So no, it wasn't what I consider poor taste; it was a breath of fresh air. Koga Kage, first year."

Ryuko smiles at that, before taking the hand. "Ryuko Ashina, first year. Maybe I'll see you around more."

Koga shrugged. "Maybe, but if we don't have any classes together it probably won't happen often."

**Why is that?**

**Oh, okay then…**

**Scared you'll fall for me?**

…

Ryuko flashed Koga a wry look. "What? You afraid of my womanly charms? Think you might fall for someone like me?"

"No." Koga replied bluntly, continuing as Ryuko hung her head. "My resident housing is basically the dorm for people who don't fit with everyone else. Students from overseas, last minute arrivals and transfers, there's only a couple of people who aren't one of those things and from what I heard it was just a housing shortage."

"Wait…" Ryuko blinked in realization. She slammed her hands on a nearby table. "YOU'RE IN MY DORM?!"

Koga jumped and fumbled his book, quickly making sure his glasses were righted. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You said that overseas students and last minute arrivals are stationed in your dorm." Ryuko jabbed a thumb in her chest. "I'm a last minute arrival, and my roommate is an American!"

Koga simply stared. "…huh, I uh… guess we will see each other, then."

Ryuko flashed Koga a thumbs up and a cocky smile. "You can't escape me that easily, bandage boy!"

* * *

After exchanging more jokes with Koga, Ryuko eventually left the library after one of the librarians had reprimanded her for her loudness. As she waved goodbye to Koga, she found herself wondering where to go.

**Go to the Faculty Offices**

**Go to the Cafeteria**

**Go back to the Dorms**

The sudden grumbling of her stomach alerted Ryuko. "Damn… I haven't eaten anything since breakfast, have I?" Her path set, Ryuko walked off to the dining area, wondering what exactly she could eat.

Two people stood out in the cafeteria, largely because they each had a buffet's worth of food in front of them. One was a clear sukeban with neon blue dye throughout most of her long, flowing hair.

The other one was a girl with lavender hair that went down to her back. From the blazer she wore to the ring with an emblem on her finger, it was clear that she was from a well-off family. She was currently feasting on an incredibly large array of foods, how she managed to keep her svelte figure despite it being a mystery to Ryuko.

**Go ask for some food from the rich girl**

**Go pilfer food with the Sukeban**

**Leave**

Remembering how well things went with the model girl in the quad, Ryuko decided to take her chances with the punk girl. Pulling up a chair, she took a seat across from the girl. Now that she was in closer proximity, Ryuko suddenly began to regret her decisions. _"What was I thinking? This chick could probably rip off my feet and stick 'em on my head! At least Ashely doesn't always look like she wants to kill me! ...always."_

The girl just looked at Ryuko oddly. "…Yeah? What is it?" She barked, getting straight to her point.

Ryuko gulped nervously. _"C'mon, Ryuko… you can get your way out of this situation…"_

**Hit on her**

**Apologize and leave**

**Tell her you're new here**

**Remain silent/Try to come up with something better**

Ryuko opened her mouth to drop another line, before her voice trailed off. _"I want to _live_, damnit!"_ Shaking her head, she extended a hand. "H-hi! I'm Ryuko! I'm new here!"

The girl didn't seem to care in the slightest, not taking her focus off her meal, there were at least a dozen club sandwiches all of which were loaded with different toppings. It was much less fancy than what the rich girl was dining on but still surprisingly high grade even at a glance. "So? Whazzat gotta do with me?"

Ryuko sweatdropped, the same smile on her face as before. _"Wow… what a bitch…"_ "I… uh… was wondering if I could eat with you?"

Immediately a wrapped sandwich was tossed at her. "Sure, got enough to feed me for at least the next 5 days anyways." For the first time she actually glanced in Ryuko's direction before adding, "Take another if you don't like tomato."

"Wait, really?" Ryuko asked as she unwrapped the packaging, before immediately digging in.

The girl chuckled at Ryuko's eating habits. "Geez, don't choke, kiddo."

Ryuko swallowed down the rest of the sandwich with ease, before grabbing another. "Kiddo? How old are you then?"

"This'll be my junior year, so I guess 21?" The girl responded between bites, apparently not even sure. "I don't really keep track of that shit, waste of brainpower worryin 'bout how long ya been on this rock."

"Huh." Ryuko tossed another wrapper behind her, landing it in a wastebin. "Makes sense I guess. Only got so long to live, right?" She reached out, grabbing a third sandwich. "You know, you're a lot nicer than I thought."

"I get that a lot." The girl replied before biting into her third sub, ravenous as ever. "That said, why'd ya come over here? Just that hungry?"

"...yeah, honestly, that's why," Ryuko admitted. "My options were either you or that rich girl over there." She jerked a thumb to the girl with the lavender hair. "Given that I already struck out with another girl like her today, I figured my chances were better with you."

The girl let out another dry chuckle. "You've no idea, kiddo. That girl?" She jerked her head towards the rich girl. "She's a zaibatsu heiress; knowing that type she's probably got Yakuza in her pocket at all times."

Ryuko sweatdropped at that. "Hey, hey, you sure we should be talking about shit like that?"

At that the girl let out a proper laugh. "If a brat like that is at a run of the mill university, she's probably in hot water with her superiors." She flashed a toothy grin, like a shark smelling blood. "I can't wait to hear about her crashing and burning when she realizes she ain't hot shit around here."

Ryuko didn't say anything, though she did give the lavender haired girl a look. "She… she looks kinda sad, don't you think?"

The girl followed her gaze. "...Yeah, probably about being kicked out or whatever happened to her. She'll have to live a normal life, cry me a fuckin river." She sighed. "Look kiddo, don't go thinkin I'm a nice person. I'm not exactly "sympathetic" ya know. Got enough shit to worry about without letting other people drag me down. You'll probably figure that out too by the time you're a few years into this place."

Ryuko just sighed, before tossing away the rest of her sandwich. "Yeah, I guess."

The girl patted her on the back before tossing the rest of the still wrapped sandwiches into an unused garbage bag, which she slung across her shoulder. "Welcome to college and good luck, if you're half as bad off as me, you'll need it kiddo."

"Later," Ryuko said half heartedly.

* * *

Eventually, the sun began to set, and Ryuko found herself outside the cafeteria, leaving her alone. "Man… it's getting late…"

**Go back to your dorm**

**Hit the town, no doubt destroying any chance of a decent night's sleep for your first day**

**Go to the observatory**

"Eh, it's just orientation bs tomorrow, let's live a little!" Ryuko cried, double fist pumping in the air before cracking her knuckles and grinning. "Osaka Night Life, here I come!"

_One quick ride later_.

The town was abuzz as if it were still the day, the neon lights reaching as far as the eye could see and couriers and vendors gathered en masse alongside more...risque types.

**Red Light**

**Club**

**Hagakure Diner**

**Music Archive**

**This was a mistake…**

"Oh, right, Ashely said something about a music place right near the bridge to the island…" Ryuko thought aloud before making her way towards the address Ashley'd mentioned, sampling as many food vendors as she could on the way. Eventually she found herself at an almost mom and pop style music store, fully retro with everything from Vinyl to cassette, an incredibly tired looking young man leaning against a wall behind the counter, nodding off.

Ryuko raised a hand, before knocking on the counter. "Hello? You awake, dude?"

"Huh…?" The person muttered as they rubbed their eyes. "Oh, hey. You hear about Vinyl-cycling?"

"Really?" Ryuko replied flatly. "That's what you start with? No 'welcome' or anything?"

The young man yawned. "I mean it's not like people care much about anything else…" He sighed and looked around. "Not once has anyone ever asked about anything but Vinyl. I'm not complaining, I'm glad it made a comeback, but my family and I opened this place as a celebration of music in its entirety. Why d'ya think we even got cassettes?" He placed his chin on his elbow and gestured about. "You seriously gonna tell me you ain't here about vinyl? You're from that college, right?" At Ryuko's nod he continued. "Only one person from there ever cared one bit about something besides wanting to get cash for vinyl scraps…"

"Wait, back up… did you say cash?" Ryuko asked. "And whaddya mean 'scraps'?"

The guy just raised an eyebrow. "So you don't even know about vinyl-cycling and ya stepped in here? I'll be damned…" He began fishing around under the counter before pulling out a flier. "Vinyl R.E. uses state of the art blah blah blah… Yeah this is it, basically vinyl records, no matter what's on them, have value. "Scraps" are the term for shards of vinyl or scratched and worthless records. Music collectors have started using this tech to make unique vinyl records of their own design and composition, usually niche music or just songs that don't otherwise have vinyl release. People who DON'T care about it but still have vinyl picked up pretty quick they could make a quick buck by selling off their stuff for others to put to good use." He tossed the flier explaining all these things to Ryuko before sitting back down with another yawn. "Soooooo yeah."

"Hmmm… thanks for the tip, man," Ryuko said after a few minutes, stuffing the flier into her pocket. "Hey, mind if I browse for a bit?"

"Not at all, pleasant surprise to see someone do that."

Ryuko grinned, before browsing for a few minutes. "Let's see… do we have anything good?" Suddenly, she saw one that caught her eye. Pulling it out, she walked back over to the counter. "How much for this one?" She set a record down, the cover image being a boy in a green t-shirt clutching a bass guitar and strumming his heart out.

The young man raised his eyes. "That's interesting… ya know what? Take it. Been a long time since I saw anyone's first pick something from the states."

"What can I say?" Ryuko replied. "It just seemed interesting."

"Hey, you know a Ms. Cael?" The man suddenly asked. "Goes to that university too?"

"Yeah, she's my roommate," Ryuko said as she fished out some cash from her wallet. "Will this cover it?"

The man held up a hand. "Like I said, just take it. Especially if you're a friend of Ms. Cael. Tell her that our tech is back to normal and fully operational, k?"

"Really?" Ryuko replied. "What, you interested in dating her or something?"

THe man blinked. "Wha? No! She's the only customer we've gotten this last month with any taste or appreciation, that's all."

"Oh…" Ryuko said in disappointment. She then leaned across the counter. "So does that mean you're single, pretty boy?"

The man turned red. "Uh… y-yeah?" he stammered.

Ryuko grinned. "Maybe we'll see if we can get to know each other better! I have a feeling I'll be a regular customer here." Flashing a wink at the store owner, she then grabbed her record and left.

The moment she stepped out of the store, Ryuko let out a cheer. "I STILL GOT IT! WOOHOO!" Laughing like an idiot, she began dancing in the street with joy. In full view of the shopkeeper.

"..._Ya know, maybe things won't be so boring around here now." _The young man thought with an inkling of a grin.

* * *

By the time Ryuko got back, Ashely was… still awake, gaming away as she fought a behemoth of a beast, looking as jaw dropping as a real life version of the fight despite being a game as Ashely's character bounced around in the air landing precise strikes on some sort of pine-cone scaled monster.

"Hey! You start the fun without me?" Ryuko called out as she took a seat next to her roommate, setting her new purchase next to Ashely's own records.

"Huh? Oh, this is Monster Hunter!" The redhead replied. "Doesn't have local co-op…" As Ryuko lowered her head the redhead burst out, "Waitaminute!" With a finishing striked the beast collapsed, and without even waiting for the loading screen Ashely went to a cabinet. Inside was an ARCHIVE's worth of games the likes of which Ryuko had only ever seen in full blown stores. In a flash Ashely was back next to Ryuko handing her a copy of the very game. "I forgot I got an extra for exactly this! It'd be AWESOME to go hunting with a roommate!" She jerked a thumb to what was now a results screen. "I got another physical copy when they dropped their expansion, so feel free to take my original copy!"

"Huh? Really?" Ryuko asked as she took the copy from her hands. "You sure about this?"

"Fuck yeah!" Ashely exclaimed as she punched Ruko in the shoulder. "We'll make a sapphire star outta you!" Her eyes were gleaming like sapphires of their own and she looked ready to burst from excitement. "_Oh this is gonna be GLORIOUS!"_ "I gotta record your face throughout, oh MAN I am stoked for when you meet your first Jho!"

"Well… if you say so," Ryuko said, before blinking in realization. "Oh yeah, before we start, I went to that vinyl place you were talking about!" She pulled out the record she bought. "Check it out!"

"Scott Pilgrim?" She replied with a mixture of delight and confusion. "Didn't expect that to be your first choice."

"I just picked one that seemed interesting," Ryuko admitted. "Wanna listen?"

Ashely was already setting up the record. "You say something?" Before Ryuko could reply the song began playing.

_This is the beginning of the song…_

Ryuko shrugged. "Nevermind. C'mon, let's play!" Picking up a controller, she took a seat next to Ashely.

"Oh no you don't" Ashely replied, taking the controller. "You barely survived this morning, I'm not letting you stay up any later for your first day." At that she yawned loudly. "…shit, think I'm gettin weak."

"Aw, man…" Ryuko complained, but she relented, hopping on her bed. "Fine, but tomorrow after class, I pick the game, got it?" As she tucked herself in, the sounds of the music still rang in her head, even as she slept.

_I'm hearing voices_

_Animal noises_

_The Creme de la creme_

_The feminine abyss _

_Reaching my threshold _

_Staring at the truth 'til I'm blind…_

* * *

**AN(NB): Heyo! Nerd-Bot here! Prower's being his usual slave-driver self, so he made me write this up for the chapter. Anywho, now we're getting into some of the meatier parts. You've already been introduced to some of the cast members of our story. You may have also noticed the music choices here. Yeah, this story has its own OST. You can find it on Prower's profile if ya wanna jam out to it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some ****procrastinating**** writing to do!**

**AN(IQ): wow. Thanks. But yes, I manage the OST as it were. Songs will be added as they become relevant, so beware spoilers when checking it if you're not caught up!**

**New Cast:**

**IQ: Koga, the sukeban, music store employee**

**AG: Abe, Hiraku**


	3. Chapter 3

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"WUH?!" Ryuko immediately shot up at the sound, before turning towards the source of the noise. "Oh… the alarm." Ryuko grabbed her phone, before disabling the alarm. _"Right… school starts today."_ Getting up, the college student quickly stretched out, the rays of sunlight peering through the windows. She turned to Ashely, jabbing her in the ribs with her foot. "Hey. C'mon. We're gonna miss the train."

The girl shot up like a bolt and threw off the covers to reveal she was already dressed for classes, tennis shoes in bed and all as she grabbed her backpack and carry bag. "I'M AWAKE!" She announced, her eyes not even focused yet.

"...okay, I guess I get the shower then," Ryuko said flatly, not even phased by her roommate's actions as she grabbed a fresh set of clothes from her still-not-unpacked suitcase.

* * *

The two girls were now seated at the train station, waiting for the morning commute. Ryuko was currently munching on a breakfast bowl she bought on the way. "Sho," she said through a mouthful of rice and egg. "Wha's your firsh clash?"

Ashely fished out a scrawled note. "Uh… Viking Sagas. It sounded fun and counts as a humanities credit so I'm all game! It was actually one of the reasons I was gunning for the college I had planned to go to back in the states, they had a lot of classes like this. You?"

Ryuko swallowed down another bite before she pulled out her phone, before showing it to Ashely. "Mythologies. Dunno, sounded interesting, and pretty easy too."

"Ooh, we share a class!" A boy's voice chimed in from behind Ryuko, causing her to jump in the air. Behind her was Namiko with only a single briefcase-like carry bag and no backpack. "Good morning!"

"Oh, hey man!" Ryuko replied, relieved that it was a familiar face. "Hey, have a seat. We're just waiting for the train right now." As Namiko took a seat on the edge of the bench, she pointed her chopsticks at him. "So. You got Myth too?"

Namiko nodded. "I'm curious to see what they get right and wrong!"

"Right and… what?" Ryuko asked.

Namiko nodded with his arms crossed. "I suppose it'd be normal to assume these myths play out as they're told, but when you can speak with them firsthand, the people of those times often tell different stories! Many myths are accurately transcribed and translated into the modern age, but in institutions the stories can be downright butchered!"

As Namiko was looking off and lecturing, Ashely jabbed Ryuko in the side before twirling her finger in a cuckoo sign.

Ryuko merely shrugged, before scarfing down the rest of her breakfast. "Well, if you say so. Just… you might want to not make a scene if you find something you disagree with. Just a piece of advice."

"Yeah, that didn't work out well in the past…" Namiko admitted.

As the train pulled in, the group found themselves sitting opposite a familiar face… or rather familiar half-face.

"Well whaddya know!" Ryuko said happily. "It's the Return of the Mummy!"

"You know him?" Ashely asked incredulously, before Ryuko seated herself next to him.

"…huh, he didn't shove her off the seat." Namiko noted, just as surprised.

Ryuko gave the two a smirk. "What? Can't I hang out with my good buddy here?" She pulled Koga into a headlock, before giving him a noogie.

"Let go." The boy replied, chilling enough to signify imminent death.

"Ryuko?" Ashely piped up, "I'd do as he says. Nearly ended up with a busted arm when I ignored his warnings about "minimal personal space"."

Namiko was just smiling. "See? I told you like it or not you wouldn't be alone for long!"

Koga grumbled incoherently as Ryuko took Ashely's advice before looking to Namiko. "Fine, so your fortune proved right. But none of you get any ideas; I've got enough to deal with as far as academics go, don't need you all weighing me down."

"Alright, smart guy," Ryuko replied. "But don't think you'll be rid of me this year, got it? I'll hunt you down if you think of running!"

A sound of disgust escaped the bandages as Koga pulled his hood further down.

"So what's your first course of the day, Koga-san?" Namiko asked.

"…Linear algebra." Koga responded begrudgingly, catching everyone off guard.

"Woah woah, what?!" Ashely exclaimed. "Isn't that like, 2nd year or 3rd semester stuff?!"

"Geez, aren't you supposed to be a first year like Ashe and me?"

Koga's only response was to grunt in the affirmative, at which point Namiko chimed in. "Koga-san is a mathematical genius! I'm not surprised he's qualified a few semesters ahead in mathematics, and it won't surprise me if he's just as far ahead in the sciences as well."

"Genius, huh?" Ryuko asked. "Interesting. Maybe I can have you tutor me!" she laughed.

* * *

Eventually, the group made their way to the college, with Ashely and Koga breaking off to head to their own classes, and Ryuko and Namiko walking off to their Mythologies class.

To their surprise, no one else had arrived yet, including the teacher, despite class starting in a mere six minutes.

**Sit at the very front**

**Sit at the edge by the door**

**Sit in the very back**

**Who cares?-**

Turning to Namiko and shrugging, Ryuko tossed her bag on a random seat. "Guess I'm sitting over here then." She walked over to where her bag had landed, before yawning and leaning back in her chair.

Namiko took a front row seat, and fittingly enough had a notebook that resembled a papyrus scroll, no laptop or the like, just pen and paper. The boy closed his briefcase and sat in his seat crosslegged, breathing slowly and deeply.

Three minutes before the start of class, a young woman walked in, coffee that she clearly needed in hand, and to Ryuko's surprise placed her things at the professor's desk and began writing a name on the board. Her handwriting was somewhat sloppy, which made sense given her tiredness.

"_Huh… she looks only a few years older than me,"_ Ryuko thought as the woman finished writing her name on the board.

**Terumi Kogami**

"Terumi-Sensei, huh?" Ryuko muttered to herself.

Eventually, a handful of students wandered into the classroom, some wandering back out as they realized they had entered the wrong classroom. It was a decent-sized class, not too small, not too big. Ryuko even recognized some students, like the emo guy and the rich girl. Ryuko pulled out her phone, and looked back up. _"Class is in session, I guess."_

With a single clap the professor got everyone's attention. The moment she clapped Namiko exited his trance. "Alright, I'm just gonna say this first: If you're here for an easy A, get out. You won't find it." To prove her point she passed out a hefty packet for each student. "This will be the first exam, to give you an idea of what's going on." She spoke abrasively and wasted no time. The packet was several pages with questions ranging from matching gods and pantheons to filling out genealogy charts to multiple essay segments about the symbolism of objects, deities, and specific myths. In the multiple choice section were a plethora of beings most of those in the room had never once heard of.

Several of the students sighed and groaned in annoyance as they leafed through the packet. Some of them actually seemed to be trying to understand the information, while others just left the packet lying on their desk.

The teacher slammed a ruler on her desk. "Get the message?"

At that, several of the students flinched, and half of them bolted then and there in a mix of fear and laziness.

The teacher surveyed those who remained, about half the number of the original, and let out a sigh before tossing the ruler over her shoulder and smiling. "Sorry about that!" She said with far more cheer in her voice, the abrasiveness gone. "I just can't stand people who take subjects they don't actually have an interest in. I'm Kogami Terumi, your professor for your mythology course. Please refer to me as Terumi-sensei, if you'd be so kind."

Ryuko sweated slightly at that. _"From a complete hardass to a ray of sunshine so fast! What the hell?!"_

Several other students also had the same reaction, and Ryuko could have sworn she heard at least one person say 'bipolar'.

"No, I'm not bipolar." The teacher immediately added, proving she could hear them all. "It's a little something called acting." She added with what was almost a downright smirk, "Maybe ask the drama department for more info." The teacher began passing out things once more, this time with much less abrasion. "This is the syllabus, we won't be drifting from it so hold onto this and you won't have trouble keeping track of where we are." Among the works on the syllabus were everything from classic Greco-Roman myths to deciphering hieroglyphics.

Ryuko looked it over a bit. _"Shit, she wasn't kidding about this being hard as hell! I didn't know I had to learn completely new languages here!"_

From a seat two desks away from her, the lavender-haired girl let out a similar sigh of annoyance. "Such a pain…" she muttered under her breath.

The feeling was shared throughout the entire class, save one obvious exception, an exception that didn't go unnoticed by the teacher. "I'm surprised." She said to Namiko in a quieter voice, most of the other still looking over the syllabus. "This is only my second year here, but I still had given up on ever finding someone who wasn't bothered by at least a couple of these topics."

Namiko laughed. "You could say these types of things are my expertise! Now I'm REALLY looking forward to-" When Namiko turned to look up at the woman beside him he stopped short. "...th-this course." He finished weakly.

The teacher just smiled and let out a slight giggle. "Glad I provided an interesting course!" She responded before beginning the lecture proper.

Ryuko grinned at that. As the teacher left to survey the other students, she leaned forward, tapping him on the shoulder. "You _liiiike_ her, don't you?"

"Wha-?!" Namiko exclaimed, muffling himself just in time. "What are y-you talking about?!"

"Dude, it's so obvious," Ryuko replied. "Everyone can see it."

"She's not wrong," the student next to Namiko said. "You really suck at hiding emotions, my friend."

Namiko looked away with a "Hmph." before replying. "She's just more beautiful than I expected." He denied.

It wasn't as if he was wrong, the teacher was remarkably stunning despite being completely lackadaisical. She had thick, raven hair that reached both in front of her across the shoulders and behind her, reaching her lower back, along with a pale complexion. She wore black eyeliner and eyeshadow with little other makeup on her cheeks or lips. She had a clear piercing on one ear and was dressed in incredibly casual clothing, wearing long black pants and buckled ankle boots. It was clear, however, that what had caught Namiko was her eyes, highlighted perfectly and and a deep, dark brown.

Ryuko gave Namiko a look. "So, you won't mind if I… talk to her after class?"

"N-Not at all!" Namiko _immediately_ shot back. The entire time he'd been doing his best to further deny things by copying down word for word everything on the board, and was on his third piece of paper already.

"Suuuuure…" Ryuko chuckled, before leaning back in her seat.

* * *

As the last of the students were packing up their things, the teacher called out. "Namiko Elsamni? I'd like to speak with you for a moment!"

Namiko froze halfway through putting his notebook back in his briefcase, his face sweating bullets.

"Lucky…" The emo kid whispered under his breath as he left.

As Ryuko left, she flashed Namiko a thumbs up and a smug grin. "Good luck~!"

Namiko shakily approached the professor's desk. "Y-Yes, Terumi-sensei…?"

The professor quickly flashed a warm smile. "Oh, you're not in trouble or anything, don't worry!" Sadly she only put the boy more on edge. "I just wanted to ask if you planned to continue using pen and paper to take notes?"

That snapped the boy out of it through sheer confusion. "Um...yes, I am. I always use script to keep notes, will that be a problem for this course?"

The professor shook her head. "So long as you're diligent, no, it shouldn't be. I just wanted to make sure nothing was...well, wrong. It's been a long time since I've seen a student entirely use pen and paper for their notetaking."

Namiko did his best to smile his normal smile. "It's easier for me to carry around a notebook than an electronic device, and it also eliminates any chance of distraction on my end." At that he frowned slightly. "It's a shame to see people use their devices for other tasks and not pay attention while a professor gives a lecture; I'm certain it's hard enough doing this so many times, I certainly wouldn't want it to be for naught."

Namiko hadn't seemed to realize what he'd said until he was met with a quiet 'awww' and looked back up at the professor, blushing.

"That's incredibly thoughtful of you, Namiko-san. Well, I suppose that's all. You seemed rather enthusiastic about this course, I hope I can keep that retention!"

Namiko nodded and with a quick bow made his exit. The moment he left the room he let his back hit the wall and had his briefcase and arms across his chest, breathing heavily.

"And you said you didn't have a crush," a taunting voice said from beside Namiko.

The boy jolted at least a full foot off the ground at that before stammering out several incoherent sentences.

Ryuko looked at the mystic's reaction with bemusement. "So that's what karma feels like," she chuckled. "So, how was it?"

"She just wanted to know if I was okay using a pen and paper…" the channeler finally managed.

"If that's the case, then why are you so red?" Ryuko teased. "It wasn't that hot in the room, was it?"

"B-Be quiet!" Namiko hissed, before running off. A mere few seconds later, the professor entered the hallway, locking the classroom behind her. She quickly noticed Ryuko. "…oh, are you one of Namiko-san's friends?"

Ryuko nodded. "Yup! If you're looking for him, he already ran off."

"Oh, no, it's fine. I was able to discuss what I needed with him." She let out a deep sigh. "This first week has been exhausting, and up until now I've only been setting up!" She quickly caught herself. "Oh, sorry about that. I have a bad habit of venting in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Ryuko shrugged. "Eh. I got a free period now anyway, so I got plenty of time." She gives the teacher a smirk. "What about you? Care to spend some time together? I'll make it worth your while…" She punctuated the last word with a flirtatious wink.

The teacher just laughed. "That was cute, I admit." She responded in a way that made her stance perfectly clear. "But in all seriousness, as flattering as that was, student-professor relationships have a track record of causing… disturbances, don't you think?"

"Ah, worth a shot," Ryuko sighed. "Poor Namiko though."

"Why, is something ailing him?" Kogami responded, misinterpreting the statement as a change in subject.

Ryuko suddenly paled. "I… uh… it's nothing!" she hastily stammered out, desperate to change the subject. "Hey, so Terumi-Sensei! You know, you look really young for a teacher! What's your secret? Herbs? Medicine? Prayers?"

"Oh, no." The teacher waved off. "I'm 26." As Ryuko's jaw dropped she continued. "As a student I wasn't anything remarkable, but come my own college education it turned out I was something of a prodigy in educating OTHERS, and so I ended up earning my professor's degree at a pretty young age."

"Seriously?!" Ryuko asked incredulously. "Damn, maybe I can end up graduating early…"

The professor checked her watch. "Oh, I should be going! I have a… rather urgent appointment. See you next class, Ryuko-san!" With that she quickly made an exit.

Ryuko shrugged, before walking off. "Maybe I can find something to snack on… that breakfast wasn't filling at all!"

**Go to the cafeteria**

**Go to the student cafe and lounge-**

**Forget it, go wait outside your next classroom.**

Eventually, Ryuko made her way to the Student Cafe. She could already see several students lined up, although they were awfully excited for simple coffee. Among them was Namiko, still red.

"Hey, man!" Ryuko called out, patting the boy on the back. "How's it been?"

"Thanks to you I need a shot of death to calm me down…" The boy mumbled in reply. Immediately after they heard several people do a spit take and let out a stream of curses.

"NEXT!" The barista called, and Namiko stepped up.

"Death Shot please."

The barista smiled. "Oh, hey Namiko-kun! Extra strong, right?"

The boy nodded. "Thanks Eri-san." In a flash of movements and possible miniature explosions, the girl whipped up a normal looking large coffee. "Here ya go!"

"Death… Shot…" Ryuko repeated. "What do you mean? Looks like an ordinary coffee to me."

The barista laughed. "It's my specialty! Namiko-kun's the only one who's ever finished one and lived!" Unsettlingly, she didn't seem to be joking about that last part. "I remember some russian guy once compared it to his favorite vodka, Spirtyus something or other?"

"Spirytus Rektyfikowany." Namiko corrected between sips. "A distilled spirit 96% alcohol by volume."

Ryuko looked between the two of them incredulously. "You've gotta be kidding me. Nothing can be that strong. …at least legally, right?"

Eri huffed. "I'll have you know it's 100% my own recipe! No alcohol, no special chemicals or whatever, my own special blend of roast. Don't believe me? Here!" Immediately she got out a shot glass and filled it with the little that remained of what she brewed for Namiko. "Try it!"

Behind Ryuko, Namiko was grinning and savoring both his drink and the taste of payback.

Ryuko shrugged. "Hey, who am I to turn down free drinks?" Immediately, she took a sip of the blend. She stood there for a few seconds. "…hey, it's not that-" Ryuko suddenly realized that the world had suddenly turned purple for some reason. "…the hell?!" Before her eyes, colors of velvet and blood-red swirled and mixed in the air, and she could see strange figures, with multiple arms and eyes dancing in the air. Ryuko outstretched a hand, her fingers touching a small Pixie that had hovered near her. Ryuko giggled at that. "Wow… this is amazing!"

_**THUD**_

To the eyes of the people watching her, Ryuko had collapsed the moment the coffee had touched her tongue, a dumb look of glee on her face as she lay unconscious.

"HA!" Namiko let out, before practically cackling.

The barista just smiled. "Come again!"

* * *

"Uuuuughhh…" Ryuko groaned in slight pain as she finally peeled herself off of the floor. "What… what the hell happened?"

Namiko was sitting in a lounge seat to the side. "Same thing that happens to most people."

Ryuko grabbed at her head in pain. "Jeez… you weren't kidding about that 'Death Shot'..."

"You should probably hurry to your next class." Namiko reminded her. "You were out for over an hour."

"Over an ho-WHAT?!" Ryuko pulled out her phone. It was 11:15. "SHIT, I'M LATE!" With that, she dashed off, leaving Namiko in the dust. "Thanks a lot, you bastards!"

* * *

After a full day of syllabi and orientations, Ryuko took a seat in the lounge of the dorm. She wasn't the only one slightly regretting her late night, apparently. Sprawled out lengthwise on a couch was Ashely, standing out especially thanks to a bright red t-shirt with stylized letters spelling 'VALKYRIE'.

"Hey…" Ryuko groaned, before laying flat down on the floor. "Classes were a pain in the ass for you too?"

"Uuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhhhh…." was the only response.

Ryuko nodded. "Yup. Me too. I wonder how I managed to stay more awake than you… musta been that weird Death Shot."

"Whazzat?" Ashely slurred as she finally sat up.

"Some weird coffee thing from the school cafe," Ryuko muttered as she peeled her face off of the floor. "It's strong as hell. Knocked me out. Namiko could chug it just fine though…"

"Oh good, more creepiness…" Ashely murmured as she looked to Ryuko. "Seriously, nothing against him specifically but… well, don't you find it even a LITTLE creepy how he does that mumbo jumbo? And he'll talk about personal problems you never even told him about! It's eerie AND rude!"

Ryuko looked at Ashely oddly. "I mean, he's kind of a weirdo, but he's obviously a nice guy. He's just…" Ryuko put a hand to her chin and paused, not knowing what words to say.

"I don't care!" Ashely suddenly snapped, scowling. "What right's he got to go through other peoples' baggage?!" She suddenly grabbed her bag and stood up, walking away without another word.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ryuko asked. "I thought we were gonna hang out tonight!"

"I got practice." Ashely grunted before walking out the door.

"But-" Before Ryuko could protest further, Ashely had already left, leaving the girl alone. She sighed in disappointment, before leaning against the couch. "I guess I'll wait for you to come back, then…"

After a few minutes of being idle and a weak attempt to start properly unpacking, Ryuko sighed and left before the room accentuated her isolation any further. "_Now what should I do…?"_

**Go Walk Around Campus**

**Go Around Town-**

**Go to Bed**

Ryuko wandered aimlessly around the blocks closest to student housing, taking the opportunity to memorize as best she could the local area.

Eventually, her wandering leads her to a nearby noodle cart. Seated there is a familiar student, currently gorging herself on a meal.

"_It's that rich girl… What's she doing at a normal noodle cart? Doesn't she have like a private chef or something?" _Curiosity overtook her better judgement and she approached. "Uh...hi!"

The girl looked up in surprise, nearly choking on her meal in panic. She quickly turned to look at Ryuko, before sighing in relief. "Do I know you?"

Ryuko shook her head. "No, I was just passing by. We go to the same college."

"Oh." The girl turned back to her noodles. "You were in the class for mythology, weren't you? Why are you talking to me?"

Ryuko shrugged. "Just… thought I'd say hi? We're bound to see each other some time, might as well get greetings over with, ya know?"

The girl huffed. "Don't you already have friends of your own? Why do you have to bother me?"

"I think I pissed off my roommate…" Ryuko admitted quietly, her hand hanging. "Sorry to bother you..."

At that, the girl's face changed slightly. "I get that… come on, have a seat." She motioned for Ryuko to take the stool next to her.

Ryuko gladly sat next to her, although not sure what to say.

"What happened with your roommate?" She asked out of the blue, not even bothering to be tactful.

Ryuko twiddled her fingers. "We started off great, but I think she has issues with the other person I became friends with here. You know Namiko-kun? You would if you saw him, grey-blonde hair and a frail figure."

"Oh yeah," the girl replied. "The weirdo who talks about spirits and stuff. I've heard some stuff about him." She then looked over Ryuko. "Gonna order something, or are you gonna just sit there for a while?"

Ryuko brightened at that and placed an order before gleefully digging in.

The girl gave Ryuko a look. "You eat almost as much as I do," she commented, before continuing to chow down on her food. "Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to eat out as much as I like…"

"Wha noh?" Ryuko asked, swallowing before continuing. "Dieting?"

At that the girl flinched slightly. "W-well, of course!" she stammered out. "I can't just let myself grow chubby! I have a reputation to uphold, of course!" Despite her words, it was obvious she had something else in mind.

"Your family pressuring you into it?" Ryuko guesstimated.

At that, she slammed down her chopsticks. "Don't talk about them!" she barked angrily, startling Ryuko.

Ryuko flinched. "S-sorry…" She murmured before going quiet, not eager to upset two potential friends in one day.

The girl shook her head. "You… nevermind, you don't know anything. Just… don't bring them up, okay?" She pushed away her meal, before setting down some bills for the meal. "I'm not hungry anymore…"

From behind the lavender-haired girl there was a sigh as Ryuko placed her head in her hands. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" she whispered through gritted teeth.

At that, the girl paused, before turning to Ryuko. "…sorry, what's your name again? Don't think I really asked you."

Ryuko jolted, assuming the other girl had already left, blushing as she realized she'd probably been heard. "Oh, uh, Ryuko. Ryuko Ashina, first year."

The girl flashed Ryuko a small grin. "Hiroko Koumori. First year too." At that, she hopped off of her stool, before walking off. "Talk to you later, I guess."

After a moment of silence, Ryuko smiled back. "See ya around!"

The moment the girl was gone, Ryuko helped herself to the portions of noodles left uneaten.

* * *

**A/N: (Nerd-Bot) Well, at least we're being productive in one area, right? Ha ha ha... Ugh... Sorry to any folks who follow my FFNet page, I've just been struggling with a caption of writer's block. Trust me when I say Prower's the main reason we're able to upload these chapters with anything resembling consistency. I'm kinda on a break from writing, partly out of stress relief, partly because I finally got a Switch and Pokemon Sword and I wanna play that shit. Hope ya like Hiroko! You may be seeing more of the heiress along the way!**

**A/N: (IQ) On a similar note expect that hiatus from my FE fic to last a little longer. Lotta stuff going on in my life right now and I'm just happy I can at least find inspiration for this story as opposed to nothing at all. Oh, and got a cover image of our favorite flirty protag! Check my bio for a link to the awesome artist NB commissioned! **

* * *

**New cast:**

**IQ: Kogami, Eri**

**NB: Hiroko**


	4. Chapter 4

As the sun began to rise, the first few rays of sunlight began shining down on Osaka, signalling to all that the day had begun.

"Uuuuugh…" Ryuko groaned as the light shone on her face, the girl tossing and turning in an attempt to prevent being blinded. "No, I couldn't possibly… eat twelfths…" Despite her protests, the light seemed to constantly be on her tail, aimed directly at her face. In one final attempt to hide from waking up, Ryuko pulled the covers over her face. "Stupid sun… lemme sleep more…"

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The sounds of a blaring alarm filled the room, and Ryuko's eye twitched slightly. "God… damnit." Groaning in annoyance, the girl peeled the covers off of herself, before looking around the room. To her surprise, Ashely's bed was untouched from last night, as was the couch. _"That's… weird… she should be back by now. Unless…"_ She shook her head violently. "No, no! It's probably nothing! She's fine! ...she's fine." Suppressing a shudder, Ryuko grabbed her clothes from her suitcase, before heading to the bathroom. "She has to be fine…"

* * *

As Ryuko finished getting ready to head out, there was a knock on her door...a very heavy one.

Ryuko jumped. "Ashe-chan?!" She quickly dashed off and tore open the door. "Ashe! You're-"

"Unconscious." A tall figure finished. Holding Ashely over her shoulder in a less than elegant manner was the sukeban Ryuko had met in the cafeteria, her face now obscured by a medical mask. "Found this dorm room's number on her keyring, guess I was right." Without waiting for an invitation, she walked in and tossed the redhead onto Ryuko's bed. "Tell your dumbass roommate to never do anything so stupid again."

"Oh thank god!" Ryuko grabbed the punk girl, hugging her tightly. "SHE'S ALIVE!"

"O-OY!" the punk exclaimed as she pried Ryuko off. "None of that, kiddo, got it?!"

"Where was she?!" Ryuko asked panickedly. "What happened?! Why is she unconscious?!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "This idiot was in that martial arts gym for like, five hours straight. She was PISSED too, I was doing my rounds and saw her going nuts on punching bags, then at something like 2 or 3 in the morning, I end up in the area again only to see her stumbling out the door of that place looking like death." She glanced at Ashely. "Didn't even make it five steps before faceplanting onto a flowerbed."

At that, Ryuko's face fell slightly. "I… I see… thanks for finding her." She looked at Ashely's unconscious body. "I'll take care of things from here."

After a brief silence and not moving an inch, the senior looked up. "Hey, kiddo, your family name Ashina?"

"Yeah?" Ryuko looked at the punk in surprise. "Why?"

"Cause she wouldn't shut up in her sleep about it! Ashina, Ashina, Ashina, sorry sorry sorry…" She threw up her hands in exasperation as she turned to the door. "It was like listening to a record on repeat in my ear the entire trip back." She looked over her shoulder. "Next time if I see her like that, I ain't gettin involved. Tell her that for me, wouldya?"

_**SLAM**_

At that, Ryuko let out a sigh, before turning to Ashely. "You idiot… you big… muscly… angry… _idiot._" She ran her hand through her hair. "What am I gonna do with you?"

Her only response was a few murmurs as the girl blindly latched onto Ryuko's wrist, muttering incoherently.

There was another knock on the door, one much softer. "Ryuko-chan?" Namiko called from the other side. "I haven't been able to sense Ashely-san's presence for a long time, is she in there?!" The worry he felt was evident in his voice.

"Yeah!" Ryuko called back. "She's here! Someone brought her in." She stood back up, only to remember the death grip the martial artist had on her wrist. "It's open, anyways. Come in."

Namiko quietly opened the door, letting out a sigh upon seeing Ashely. "Thank goodness…"

"Have a seat, man," Ryuko said, motioning for him to sit down on the couch. "I'm surprised you're so invested right now, what with how she's constantly given you the cold shoulder. She looked back down at Ashely, who still refused to let go of her. "She… she had a lot of things to say, I'll be honest."

Namiko nodded sadly. "I know… but I know she doesn't mean it." When Ryuko gave him a quizzical look, he continued. "I made some pretty big mistakes when she first arrived… one of them was reopening wounds she was trying to forget. I don't blame her for hating me, and I'm not surprised." On a dime, however, the boy became far more determined. "But that doesn't mean she's a bad person, I know she isn't!" He looked down at the redhead. "If she wasn't, she wouldn't be hurting so much in the first place…"

Ryuko nodded at that. "Well… whatever it is, she's got us, right?"

Namiko smiled. "Right!" He glanced back at Ashely. "…I think we should let her rest, don't you?"

**Wake her up for class**

**Let her sleep-**

Ryuko nodded. "Yeah. We should." She turned to Namiko. "Hey, could you do me a favor?" She grabbed a notebook from Ashely's bag, before scribbling something on it.

"…?"

"Here." She tore out a page from the notebook and handed it to Namiko. "It's an explanation of why I'm going to be absent today." She turned to Ashely's unconscious body. "I'm not gonna leave her alone. Not again."

Namiko looked at Ryuko for what seemed like an eternity before smiling. "…You're also a good person, Ryuko-chan." At that he took the paper and made his way out before a response could form.

Ryuko nodded at Namiko's retreating form, before turning back to Ashely. "Well… guess we'll be waiting for a while, won't we?"

* * *

With a tremendous yawn, Ashely rose from where she lay, rubbing her eyes. "Where…?"

"MARVELOUS!"

As Ashely slowly rose from Ryuko's bed, sounds of clacking controllers could be heard. Ryuko was leaning against the foot of the couch, fight stick in her hands as she focused on the screen.

Looking between the sun out the window and Ryuko… being there, Ashely began to panic. "WHA-?! What time is it? What day is it?!" She exclaimed aloud, trying to get off the bed only to feel her arms and legs give out all but completely.

Ryuko turned to Ashely in surprise. "You're awake! You're _alive!"_ She immediately dropped the controller, before leaping to Ashely, giving her a tight hug. "You're aliiiiiiive!"

All the girl managed to do was knock Ashely back over, her world still spinning. "How the hell did I get here? I was at the gym and… uh…"

Ryuko suddenly broke off the hug. "You don't remember what happened?"

"I remember beating the tar out of a couple bags before walking out, but… I don't remember ever getting back."

"Because you _didn't_," Ryuko pointed out. "You fell unconscious in the street. Someone from school dropped you off this morning."

"…Oh…" Ashely responded halfheartedly. "Great. So even discounting being an asshole, I still made a fool of myself." she sighed and let her head fall back onto the bed. "Wait, why are you here at this hour? Classes cancelled for somethin'?"

"Nah," Ryuko replied casually. "I didn't want to just leave you to wake up alone. So I'm ditching."

Immediately she was hit over the head. "Idiot- OW!" Ashely exclaimed, clutching her incredibly sore shoulder. "Ugh...gonna need an ice bath and a hot shower to fix this…" She looked at Ryuko. "Did you at least tell them it was my fault you're missing?"

"Yeah, Nami-kun came over to check on you before he went to classes. So I asked him to take a note to the school explaining everything."

"Oh okay." Ashely murmured. Moments later she did a double take. "Wait… Namiko-kun?"

Ryuko nodded. "Yeah, he was really worried about you. Ran all the way from his room just to make sure you got home safe."

Asjely finally stood proper and sat at her desk before whispering to herself, only audible in an already dead silent room. "Whoever found me… should have just kept walking."

At that, Ryuko frowned. She then grabbed some of Ashely's clothes and tossed them to her. "Come on, take a shower and get dressed."

After not moving for about 30 seconds, the girl growled and pulled the pair of shorts off her head before marching off.

* * *

After Ashely had gotten cleaned up, albeit with a lot of complaining on her end, Ryuko and Ashe found themselves walking around the city together.

"Hey, Ashe-chan~!" Ryuko complained as she poked the American in her cheeks. "C'mon, we're just hanging out, two girls on the town! The least you could do is try and enjoy yourself!"

Ashely just grunted. "My everything is killing me."

"Well, it's your fault for overworking yourself," Ryuko pointed out. "Come on, think of it as you repaying me."

Ashely turned to the girl incredulously. "Repaying for _what_?!"

"For giving me a goddamn heart attack worrying over you!" Ryuko pointed out. "Now come on, you're the one treating."

Ashely sighed before taking a sharp left into a place with signs Ryuko barely recognized as American. "YO, WHAT'S DOIN LADDIE?!" She called out to the waiter, who was standing by several separate kinds of grills and stoves. He turned and quickly broke into a smile. "ASHELAY! "Whit like?" and wha-not, ya litta Hoodsie!"

Ryuko looked between the two of them in confusion, before sighing and leaning on the table. "Why is your language so complicated…?"

Ashely completely ignored her. "This chappie ain't eva had a true specimen! Getter a prime med with da ole' enchillada!"

"Ye gottit boss, one Boston Special comin' up! Anythin' else?"

Ashe checked her wallet. "...eh, whit tae fuck, I gos extra on me. I'll ave a Creme Paya too! And load me own with baycohn!"

In a blur the waiter took the role of chef and more flames than could possibly be safe began roaring and grease sizzled.

"So… you're treating me to home cooking, huh?" Ryuko asked. "I always wanted to try American food."

Ashely perfectly slid a topped off glass of fizzing soda. "The guy ere imports the real deal." She explained, accent still slipping in as she switched back to japanese. "Go ahead, try the stuff!"

"Real deal, huh?" Ryuko said, pulling over her glass of Sprite. "If you insist." She put her lips to the straw and took several gulps of the soda. "Mmm… nice and refreshing. Man, I gotta go here more often!"

Ashely couldn't help laughing. "And how'd ya order? 'Cordin to you, last time you tried to place an order at a foreign place ya ended up with ketchup on your spaghetti instead of marinara." She sweatdropped as she recalled the incident. "...not that that stopped ya from eatin' it…"

"Hey, the pasta was still good!" Ryuko protested. "Though everyone in the restaurant looked at me like I had just committed an unforgivable sin…"

Suddenly a burger was placed in front of Ryuko that must've at LEAST been a half pounder cooked to perfection, still sizzling with cheese, bacon, lettuce, and several other toppings.

Ryuko looked as if she had died and gone to heaven. Ashely could see a thin trail of drool drip down the side of her mouth. "It… it's perfect…" Ryuko wiped away some tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "The patty is grilled to perfection, not too rare, not too charred… the bacon is perfectly crisp! I can see the glistening fat on the strips still! The vegetable toppings are all fresh, as if they were freshly plucked, and the cheese has reached the ultimate equivalence point of melty and solid!"

Ashely and the chef just looked at each other and shrugged, before pretending to understand what Ryuko was on about. "Uh… Roight on then, 'appy to oblige ya."

As the chef took his place back behind the counter, Ashely began to dig into her own meal with all her normal enthusiasm surging back in an instant. "Ah… a teckle work down ya gob really can do wonder for ya…"

Ryuko had already torn through half of her burger at this point, and was now grabbing a handful of fries. "Ya know," she said through a full mouth. "Ah gotta hang out wit you more offen."

"I ain't you meal ticket lassie!" Ashe barked through her food. "Soides, this is a one time thing, remember?!"

Ryuko batted her eyes at Ashe. "But we're besties, right, Ashe-chan?"

"No, that's you and Namikun, you're my roomie!"

"I am shocked," Ryuko replied, mock-offended. "Shocked and appalled."

At that there was a sudden, violent chime and a door being kicked open as three young men in black suits, none of them possibly older than early twenties if that, barged in, ignoring the two girls and heading straight to the counter. "Oy, pops… I thought we gave you instructions!"

Ryuko silently watched the confrontation, finishing off the rest of her burger.

Ashe repeatedly chewed on one end of a fry, not taking her eyes off things.

The man behind the counter just scoffed. "Ya bawbags seriously think you can scare me? Go take your collection money bullshat someplace else!"

One with oiled back hair placed a hand on the counter, slamming it. "The fuck do you think you're talkin to?! Listen here ya "yawn key" dumbass, we got rules over here, rules that you don't go to the officers to discuss, ya get me?!"

Again, the man seemed unfazed. "Ah fought bite n blister int he west, shouldn't be hard over here. Now order or get out, you're disturbing the paying customers.

There was an exclamation of restrained anger and from behind the wannabe Yakuza's back was the glint of a blade.

_SPLASH!_

Before the wannabe could think of using his blade, a fizzy wave of liquid ran down his back, causing his hair and clothes to become uncomfortably sticky.

"HEY!" the thug exclaimed, turning around as one of the other two immediatley snatched up Ryuko by her arm, twisting painfully.

"You want in on this old man's beatin?!"

Before Ashely could even throw a punch, the third one let out a cry of agony as a bloody _SHINK_ alerted the group to a butterfly knife being pulled out of a shoulder blade, the thug briefly losing consciousness from sheer pain and his body landing with a _thud_at the feet of a very menacing looking sukeban dressed head to toe in black with a grey beanie and white surgical mask. Immediately both the other punks turned their full attention towards her, and the sukeban motioned both Ryuko and Ashely to back off.

Ryuko, eyes still wide from the grab at her arm, looked from the thug to the punk girl in shock. "T-thanks…"

The sukeban didn't even acknowledge the remark as she grabbed the hilt of the blade before kicking the thug away, forcefully removing the blade and causing him to cry out in pain once more as he stumbled back.

Immediately the other two pulled knives. "You BITCH!" the leader cried, The fuck do you think you're doing?! You have any idea who we-"

"Wannabe Yakuza, nothing more. Now piss off before I land you two in the hospital." The sukeban voice was chilling, and sent fear into not just the thugs, but Ashely and Ryuko as well. They were snapped out of it as the clattering of the thugs' knives hitting the ground rang out and they grabbed their injured ally before running wide eyed and without another protest. The sukeban then removed her mask and hood to exhale and Ryuko couldn't believe her eyes.

"Sandwich Girl?!" Ryuko gasped.

"Y-You know her?" Ashely hissed under her breath, suspenseful about approaching the sukeban.

Said girl ignored Ryuko entirely, walking up to the counter. "Hey."

The man smiled weakly. "Took your time. The usual?"

The girl just nodded and smiled ever so slightly before immediately taking three stacked to-go boxes. "Anyone ever tries that collection money bullshit, just ring me." She looked to the two girls as she headed out. "…You two oughta watch out for knives in these parts. Lot of knife fight rings." With that she headed out as if nothing unordinary had happened.

"…yeah." Ryuko responded weakly. "Thanks for the advice." She turned to Ashely, strangely silent.

The redhead just let out a long sigh, sitting back down. The chef scratched his head. "Sorry laydee, ya probly left the Bronx to get aWAY from tis shite, yeah?"

Ashely simply nodded as she grabbed a box and shoveled the uneaten food into it. As she reached for the tab the chef snatched it up. "Nah-ah, not after ya'll had to endure THA spectacle. Out the door wit ya now!"

* * *

As the two headed back to the dorm, Ashely seemed less depressed and more peeved. "Can't believe ah froze up… gotta train harder…"

"…hey, Ashe?"

The redhead looked up, startled at the tone used. "Wha-? What's wrong?"

Ryuko looked up at her roommate, surprisingly soft in her gaze. "You know… we could have died there, couldn't we?" She shrugged and let out a sigh. "Let's face it, you're tough, but it was three on one. And I can't fight."

Ashely went quiet before suppressing a shudder. "…W-what's your point?"

"Well… I'm just sayin', ya know?" Ryuko replied. "I mean sure, I can be dumb… but you're usually smarter than me."

Ashely stopped walking and nudged Ryuko. "Stop the cryptic shit! Ya sound like-" the redhead cut herself off and bit her tongue.

A grin made its way on Ryuko's face. "Like a certain someone you should apologize to~?"

"GIT TAE FUCK OUTTA 'ERE!" Ashe immediately barked, holding up her hands as if preparing to choke out Ryuko.

Ryuko laughed as she raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, I give, I give!" As she lowered her hands, her face went back to the serious tone it held before. "But seriously, Ashe. I get Namiko-kun ain't the…"

"Tactful type?" Ashely scoffed. "Good with words type? Unintrusive type?!"

Ryuko sighed. "Look. Namiko-kun's a good guy's what I'm saying. Whatever he said, he obviously didn't mean to make you upset. He just wants to help people!" She gave Ashely a side look. "Kind of a dick move to treat him like dirt, dontcha think?"

Ryuko could practically hear Ashely biting her tongue, before the redhead turned her head sharply. "Hmph."

There was a long silence before the scot spoke. "…Lad needs to know wot ain't his place to speak on. Not everyone's got manners enough to hear 'im out."

The shorter of the pair let out a low whistle, smiling to herself. "Well, the only way to let him know is to talk to him, isn't it?"

"As if!" Ashely shot back, before suddenly bolting off. "IF YA AIN'T GONNA DROP THIS THAN YE CAN KISS MY ARSE!"

Ryuko tried to chase after, but ran out of breath soon enough. A big grin on her face, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY! I SHARE A DORM WITH YOU ASHE-CHAN!"

* * *

As Namiko sat on the dorm's roof, crosslegged in the breeze, a sudden slamming of the door to the roof jolted him out of his trance. "Oy, you."

Namiko shakily looked at the figure addressing him. "H-Hi there Ashely-san."

The redhead sat beside him, wearing her spare Valkyrie shirt, and let out a long sigh. "...Why do you still care about me?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb." Ashely snapped. "I've treated you like garbage for almost a month now… Ryuko-chan said you were worried about me. This ain't the first time either, so why?"

Namiko stared downwards as he spoke. "I… I know you're a good person, and I know you don't think that." He looked up at Ashely. "But you're wrong. I don't know why you have so much guilt, but the kind of thing you think you did… the only possibility is you didn't do it."

The boy braced himself for a slap or even a punch, flinching at contact only to realize the girl was hugging him, before breaking away just as quickly. "I'm sorry…" Ashely began, "I just wanted to put my past behind me so much. I never thought about how much shit I was giving you in trying to do that."

The boy just looked down embarrassed. "I-I just say what I think is right. Most people don't like hearing a crazy person be the right one."

Ashely ruffled the boy's hair. "Sometimes crazy is the best thing you can be." she replied before preparing to go back down, leaving Namiko there smiling wide.

_CLICK!_

Namiko looked around for the source of the noise. "H-huh? Who's there-?!"

"Hey~!" a familiar voice taunted. Ryuko sat nearby, lying on a nearby patch of tile. "How's it going? You two seem to be getting along fine~!"

Namiko began blushing as he held up his hands. "W-w-wait, it wasn't-!"

Ryuko snickered. "Ah, don't worry, I know you two are just friends for now. I'm just messing with ya!"

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "What are you doing up here…?"

"Just wanted to check up on my two best friends in Osaka," Ryuko replied innocently. "Is that a crime?"

"…real reasons." Ashely replied dryly, staring right through Ryuko.

Ryuko kept the same grin on her face as she slowly stood to a standing position. "A lady doesn't tell… SEE YA!" She then dashed off, laughing to herself, leaving Ashely and Namiko behind.

"GIT TAE FUCK BACK 'ERE!" Ashely yelled before dashing after, leaving a smiling Namiko.

* * *

**A/N(NB): Hello one and all! It's Nerd-Bot back at it again with the Author's Note! Prower's feeling a little shy right now, so it's just me! If y'all are wondering, yeah, this is still a Persona story. Just doing the usual slow buildup until the real fun begins. Thanks to those of y'all that have stayed tuned, even if ya don't necessarily review. We'd love to hear feedback from y'all, so don't feel shy like Prower and feel free to let us know your thoughts. …please? I'll give you a cookie?**


	5. Chapter 5

"Zzz…"

"_**I'm hearin' voices! Animal noises! The creme de la creme! The feminine abyss-"**_

On instinct, an arm shot out from under the covers to silence the phone, before Ryuko blearily sat up in her bed, yawning. "Mornin', Ashe-chan…"

A low murmur answered her followed by a heavy thud.

"Yeah, me too…" Ryuko mumbled, idly scrolling through her phone. "Dibs on the shower."

From the floor Ashe waved a hand in acknowledgement.

* * *

"Y'know," Ryuko said through a mouthful of rice and egg. "Ah think 'm gettin' da hang of dish college thing."

At that, there was a heckling laugh from in front of them. The emo kid Ryuko saw yesterday was standing against the side of the train card, braced from a handle.

"Wha sho funne?!" Ryuko snapped.

"...Nothing." The man scoffed. "You'll figure it out, eventually." At that the train came to a stop and the emo was the first out, hands in pockets.

"…Man, what's up that guy's arse?" Ashe huffed.

"I dunno," Ryuko scoffed as she swallowed the last of her food. "But I think it died."

* * *

The lab was a comparatively smaller size than the Mythologies class, only ten to twelve students seated at their stations. Ryuko was seated at the station closest to the back, idly scrolling through her phone in boredom.

Among the students, there were no familiar faces to be seen, but plenty of murmurs to go around.

Fiddling with her supplies in one hand, phone in the other, Ryuko sighed. "_Great. Not even at class at starting time on their first day? I miss Kogami already…"_

_**BANG!**_

The door suddenly slammed open, causing the beakers and bottles within the class to jump and clatter. The moment that it opened, the smell of burning sulfur wafted into the room.

"…_oh god it's a science witch." _Ryuko thought, both excited and scared.

In strode a woman clad in a lab coat three sizes too big for her, with a simple tight-fitting t-shirt and a set of skinny jeans underneath. Her hair was massively wild and unkempt, with small parts of her hair smoking, as if she had just walked out of a fire. A pair of coke-bottle glasses rested on her face, revealing an odd, carefree look, while a set of goggles was pushed up on her fluffy mane of a hairstyle. Humming to herself happily, she tossed a rucksack onto the teacher's desk before turning to the rest of the class. "Good morning everyone!"

Ryuko had already put her phone completely away, at full attention. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod." She murmured barely audibly, thankful she was at the back.

As the students stared at her completely gobsmacked, she pulled out a piece of chalk from the board, before she began zipping around like a living lightning bolt across the board as she began to doodle on the board in big, broad characters. "Ba! Ka! Hat! Su!" Practically leaping on one of the spinning chairs, she then began to write down her first name. "Dai! Chi!" Spinning the chair, she somehow managed to slow down to a perfect stop, before dramatically gesturing towards the blackboard. Her name was written in big, bold characters, and various doodles, be they miniature versions of the professor's face or large explosions, littered the blank spaces on the board. "That's me!"

Silently, beneath the desk, Ryuko added Van Halen to her mood playlist.

"So! Are you guys ready to have some _fun?!_" She cheered.

"YES!" Ryuko cheered involuntarily.

Immediately, she pointed to Ryuko. "YEAH! THAT'S THE SPIRIT! LET'S BLOW STUFF UP!"

Several people looked at Ryuko as if she was as crazy as the teacher, but at that moment the girl could not care less what others thought.

* * *

_**One series of incredibly dangerous experiments later…**_

Ryuko walked out the classroom coughing smoke, still unsure of exactly what had happened. She stood dazed as every single other student ran with 10 times more urgency from the class.

"Whew!" Professor Bakahatsu sighed out, burn marks covering her lab coat. Happily, she took in a breath. "Smell that fresh air, eh?"

Ryuko nodded practically on reflex. "YES Ma'am!" she turned to the teacher beaming, mind still racing.

"I'm glad you had fun! Usually it's, 'Oh god, why's everything on fire?' and 'We're going to have to remove your tenure!'" Shaking her head in exasperation, the professor smiled towards Ryuko. "I didn't take you for one to enjoy chemistry, to be honest!"

Ryuko looked over the professor, a smirk on her face. "That's not all I'm enjoying with this class, if you catch my drift."

"Really?" Tilting her head in confusion, she gave Ryuko an innocent look. "Like what?"

Ryuko sweatdropped. "_Dangit…" _"N-nevermind…" She replied halfheartedly. "You seem like an interesting professor. I look forward to your class!"

"Have a nice day!"

* * *

At lunch Ryuko found Namiko at the same table she had sat at before.

"So what's up, man?" Ryuko asked, taking a seat for herself, before propping up her feet on the table.

Namiko jumped slightly, turning from the empty space. "Oh! Hi Ryuko-chan!"

"Man, my last class was like, the best thing I've ever done in college, easily," Ryuko grinned. "I think one girl's _hair_ caught on fire…"

"Oh you mean Professor Bakahatsu!" Namiko replied immediately. "They're a unique one, alright…"

"And AWESOME!" Ryuko cheered, leaning back nearly far enough to fall out of her chair. "WHOA!"

Namiko stifled a laugh at that. "You certainly seem energised from their class. I was just talking about how you're usually still half asleep by now…"

"Talking?" Ryuko asked. "With who?"

"Bolas!" Namiko said cheerily. "He's always with me, you can't hear him though, I'm betting." As if to prove his point he turned to an empty space. "Yes, I know what happened last time I told someone, but she's special, remember?"

Ryuko just slowly nodded, having become adjusted to Namiko's 'friends' at this point. "Sure, Bolas… that's a new name I haven't heard."

"_**...n't believe…."**_

"GAH!" Caught completely off guard, Ryuko fell out of her chair completely, her back hitting the floor with a painful _crack._

Namiko winced. "I really hope that was just that thing where your back pops like knuckles…" He leaned over from his meal. "You okay? What happened?"

"I think I…" Ryuko shook her head. "Nevermind. Probably karma for trying to perv on a teacher or something."

Namiko sighed. "Funnily enough, Bolas was just saying you still don't believe me… Not that I ever truly expect anyone to by this point…" he said almost mournfully. "But still, I suppose that means the charm is working!"

"Charm?" Ryuko smirked. "You mean-"

Namiko whapped her lightly on the head with a spoon. "I mean the _spirit_ _pouch _charm I gave you!"

"Spirit… ya mean this thing?" Ryuko held up said charm in front of her face.

"That's the one!" Namiko responded with a nod. "Any malevolent spirits or souls should avoid you as long as you have that. It's potent, too! Even Shadows would give you a wide berth…"

"What, like if I stand out in the sun, I won't see my shadow?" Ryuko replied in confusion. "What kinda science is that?"

"Er… no, Ryuko-chan..." Namiko murmured, scratching his cheek. "Shadows are a special kind of demon-like being I learned about from Bolas. He knows a lot more about them than me; I've only ever seen one once and it was terrifying…"

"Wait, what-"

_**BRRRRIIING!**_

Namiko finished his meal. "We better get going!" He then looked down at Ryuko's tray. "Uh...Ryuko-cha? You're only halfway done…"

The moment Namiko said that, the food seemed to vanish like magic. "Done!"

"That's… impressive." Namiko commented. "…and terrifying…" He whispered after.

* * *

"Alright, next class, next class…" Ryuko muttered as she looked at her schedule. "English? Kay then." Much to her luck, the class wasn't too far off from where she was, and she quickly entered the room, only to see a familiar face. _"Great…"_

Sitting in the corner closest to the door was the jet black kid, with a notepad out. He glanced up and put it away. "…What are _you_ looking at?"

Ryuko barely just held her tongue, not wanting to start anything yet. She walked past the boy, before taking the seat as far away from him as humanly possible.

At that he scoffed and went back to his notebook.

"Alright, settle down…" A voice sighed, despite no one making much noise. Setting up his computer at the front was a middle aged man with bags under his eyes and tie barely done right, wholly unremarkable in the rest of his appearance. "I'm Mr. Sho, your professor for this English course…"

"…_please tell me he's secretly as awesome as Bakahatsu-sensei,"_ Ryuko thought to herself.

Her answer came in the form of several murmurs that clued her into exactly what she was in for.

"Great, if the subject doesn't put me to sleep, Sho definitely will."

"Why hasn't he been fired yet?! Literally no one likes him and he never even bothers helping students!"

"He's not even strict, just super boring…"

Ryuko sank down in her chair, a look of complete and utter _dread_ on her face. "Oh no…"

"English is the most spoken language on the planet, and so it's crucial you pay extra special attention to this course." Sho droned. "So open up your books to their table of contents and align them with your syllabi as provided online…"

Ryuko merely slammed her head down on her desk. _"Uuuuughhhh… My brain is melting…"_

* * *

"ASHINA!" A voice said, jolting Ryuko's attention.

Sho was looking straight at her. "Are you paying attention? Answer this question! What is the latin meaning of the root for the english word "nice"?"

**-Pleasant-**

**Ignorant**

**Mediocre**

"Uhhh… Pleasant?" Ryuko replied, saying the first word in her textbook she saw.

Sho sighed. "No, Ashina-san. "Nice" comes from the latin word nescius, which comes from the verb nescio, which means "I do not know." Since it's the first class, you like to try one more time?"

"_Yay! Second guess!"_ Letting out an internal sigh of relief, Ryuko ran over her options in her head once again.

**Pleasant**

**-Ignorant-**

**Mediocre**

"It's ignorant, isn't it?" Ryuko asked.

"That's correct." The professor responded, turning back to the board.

"Huh, guess she knows more than just how to flirt after all…" one student murmured.

"I'm surprised anyone can pay attention in this class at all." Another added.

Ryuko leaned back in her chair, grinning smugly to herself. _"Nailed it."_

* * *

"And your assignment will be online." Sho finished, before closing his computer and wiping the board.

First out of his seat was the Emo kid from before, making a quick exit through the door, a thud as something fell when his backpack swung around.

"Huh?" Seeing this, Ryuko looked around the room, before bending down. "Now what's this…?" Idly, she began flipping through the notepad, curious.

The book was filled to the brim with sketches of varying degrees, some merely scribbles, some outlines and traces, some a series of geometric shapes in abstract patters, and even portraits. All of them, however, were beautifully colored with all sorts of vibrant shades across the entire color spectrum.

"…didn't see that coming," Ryuko stated bluntly, half to herself, half out loud. Stuffing the sketchpad into her pocket, she began looking around. "Shit, he's gone… maybe I can find him again later?"

"Ashina-san, please leave the room." A voice called, and she looked up realizing everyone else had already left.

"Ah, sorry, prof! Later!" Without another word, Ryuko dashed out, glad to be free of the boring class.

* * *

As Ryuko neared the courtyard she heard a familiar voice humming. "Hmm hm hmm~…"

"Oi! Nami-kun!" Ryuko called out.

The white haired boy turned. "Hey there, Ryuko-chan!" Immediately he ran over. "So how are things settling in? And what's that notebook? I don't remember that."

"Not mine. Some schmuck lost it, I found it," Ryuko explained. "So wassup with you again? More conversations?"

Namiko shook his head. "None are speaking, which means either Shadows are active or there's some religious festival going on…" At that, the Egyptian failed to repress a shudder.

"Huh?" Ryuko tilted her head in confusion. "What's up with you?"

"I-I'm not good with… shrines and the like…" Namiko admitted, before explaining, "It… it's hard to block out the voices."

"Huh. Guess it would be weird, given the stories of dead people and stuff hanging around those places," Ryuko realized.

Namiko shook his head. "It's nothing like that. It's… shrines and the like are conduits. Spirits are everywhere, but they remain on 'their side' so to speak. Shrines are an example of a place where both sides converge, and so for someone like me, it just… it's deafening."

"…_**here-… protect- …ou."**_

Ryuko paused at that, before swallowing nervously. "Hey, uh, Nami-kun… how often do you hear these voices again?"

Namiko tilted his head. "Which ones? Some spirits follow but never talk, some are a constant source of noise, some you have to wait for them to manifest but then for a while you can speak with them...some like Bolas I can have conversations with whenever I want!"

Ryuko merely sweatdropped. _"Could he be actually not crazy?"_ She shook her head immediately at that_. "What am I thinking? Nami-kun's a good guy. Just because I think I'm going crazy doesn't mean he is."_

**-Hang out with Namiko-**

**Leave and explore**

"Hey, Nami-kun?" Ryuko asked. "Maybe we should just take our mind offa this stuff for a while. Wanna hit the town for a bit?"

The boy visibly brightened. "Sure, I'd love to! Anywhere in mind?"

**-Someplace new-**

**Music Store**

**FOOD**

"Not really!" Ryuko admitted. "Let's just explore! It's a big city, might as well have a blast!"

Namiko nodded. "Lead the way!"

* * *

"…we're lost, aren't we?" Ryuko sighed.

"Nonsense!" Namiko replied. "I'm never lost because I always have a guide!" At that he took a left and Ryuko had to pull the boy back before a car ran him over.

"You sure about that?" Ryuko replied dryly. "Because I think your guides may be trying to kill you."

Namiko scratched the back of his head awkwardly at that and smiled. "Eheh…"

At that, a sign caught Ryuko's eyes. "Hey, has that place always been there? Don't think I saw that when I got here."

There was a yellow, hand painted sign on a shabby looking rent out building that read: _"Daidara Metalworks"_

"I… don't remember this either." Namiko agreed. "And I've been here a lot longer than you."

"C'mon, let's check it out!" Ryuko shouted, before grabbing Namiko by the arm and forcibly dragging him towards the shop.

In the store was a young, unkempt man clearly just finishing setting up. The store was organised, but barely, and clearly all set up by hand. "...huh? Oh, hiya- er, I mean, Welcome y'all to my shop!" he spoke with a clear Kansai accent.

"Cooooool…" Ryuko said aloud as she looked around the shop. "You made all this yourself?"

The young smith nodded proudly. "Darn tootin! Master Daidara taught me everything I know back in Inaba!" He sighed. "It took forever to set up a shop of my own, and bled me dry...But I'm gonna spread his craft and inspire others like he did me!"

"Wait, Inaba?" Ryuko asked. "As in that place where all those murders happened?! I saw that on 'Real Sins' a few weeks ago!"

"…and Inaba is also on the other side of the country, isn't it?"

The shopkeep scratched his head. "It's… a long story. But mah family mostly lives in Osaka, they got me a foothold what to start a business right in the heart of a big city! I'm Mr Egawa, by the way, but ya'll can call me Minarai, it's what everyone called me back when I was studying under ol scarface."

"How much does this stuff cost?!" Ryuko suddenly dashed up to the counter, eyes sparkling with excitement. "What kinda weapons do ya have here?! Name your price, I'll-"

"Yoink!" Namiko ordered, pulling Ryuko by the collar just as she'd done to him minutes ago. "Sorry mister, but I can't let my friend bankrupt herself before the semester is even in full swing!"

The smith just nodded. "You kids be careful now!"

"Nami-kun-OW! Wait, I gotta-HEY! I'LL BE BACK!"

The apprentice just smiled and waved as Ryuko was dragged out.

* * *

"Ryuko-chan, you can't just buy every weapon and piece of food you see!" Namiko scolded. "Aren't you already strapped for cash?!"

"Well… I… uh…" Ryuko stammered, unable to find a proper counterargument to that.

Namiko sighed. "You really are a Fool, I'll give you that…"

"Hey!" Ryuko replied, offended. "I'm not stupid! I just know what I like!"

"No, Fool as in number zero: the Fool arcana." Namiko clarified.

"Ar… what now?" Ryuko repeated. _"Wait… hold on a sec!"_ "You're talking about that Tarot crap, right?!"

"It's not crap…" Namiko growled. "And I know Tarot, it's extremely helpful with my cur-… gift."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Ryuko nodded furiously. "So can ya do it?!"

"Of course." The medium responded, reaching into his bag. "I have a deck with me, actually." At that he brought out a series of cards, the facedown side all showing a blue and black pattern with a monochrome mask in the center.

"C'mon, let's go sit down, I need to get mine looked at!" At that, Ryuko grabbed Namiko by his wrist, before dragging him over to the nearest available spot, a water fountain located next to a small money box.

"Alright, shuffle them." Namiko instructed, handing Ryuko the deck.

Ryuko nodded, before looking at the deck of cards. Picking it up, she began sloppily taking apart the deck and shoving them back together repeatedly. "Kinda like this?"

Namiko shrugged as he took it back. "Good enough. Now let's see…"

The boy began to spread out the cards facedown, drawing them and arranging them in a mixture of star and cross patterns, before flipping three over, all of which were familiar numbers for Ryuko.

Ryuko's eyes widened, before she fell back, letting out a hushed whisper under her breath. "I wasn't dreaming…"

"I'm sorry?"

Ryuko merely pressed her hands to her face. "Ohhhh god, I wasn't dreaming…!"

Namiko grew worried at that. "Ryuko? Is something wrong?"

Worriedly, she turned back to Namiko, before swallowing nervously. "D'ya wanna hear a weird story?"

Namiko shrank back. "Ryuko, you're scaring me…"

"Just answer me yes or no, Nami-kun."

After a moment, Namiko slowly nodded. "Y...Yes?"

Ryuko let out a sigh. "Alright, look… this might sound crazy… But I had this weird dream… before I came here, before meeting you or Ashe-san… and I'm worried it might be coming true."

Namiko listened quietly, anticipation on his face.

"I met this weird dude with a foot-long nose… it was like in a bar or something? Either way, he offered to take my fortune… and gave me those same cards."

Namiko gave the girl an odd look. "Uh… are you sure? I mean it's one thing for you to have a dream like that _after_ getting the reading, but the fact that you had such a specific dream before even meeting someone who does tarot is… concerning…"

"I know!" Ryuko snapped back. "Why do you think I'm worried?!" Seeing the boy flinch at her tone, Ryuko winced. "Sorry… sorry, I just… everything he said, it's got me nervous. So much stuff, and… I'm at the center of it all. The hell am I supposed to do?"

Namiko went quiet for a moment. "…Well, dreams that have uncanny reference to reality are often prophecies in disguise; like how my spirits guided me to you. They sent me so many visions of a wandering Fool it was like I partially knew you before I met you."

"Wait… so you weren't kidding when you said we were destined to meet and all that?"

Namiko sighed. "But this is also worrying, that kind of stuff attracts… unwanted attention."

"What do you mean, unwanted attention?"

Punctuating the statement was a faint murmur that sent a ringing through Ryuko's head; it was part roar, part whisper, all at once. Namiko's eyes dilated and he grabbed his things before grabbing Ryuko by the hand. "We need to go, _now_!"

"Wh-what is that stuff?!" Ryuko stammered out, stock-still in fear.

Namiko remained quiet, but as they rounded the corner, Ryuko saw over her shoulder a black mass seeping through cracks in the air and a faint outline of a mask.

* * *

As the pair found themselves a safe place back on campus, Ryuko turned to Namiko, before grabbing him by the shoulders. "Okay, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SHIT?!"

"Um… it might've been a Shadow." Namiko managed. "People who are aware of spiritual things are more likely to be targeted by malevolent beings. The fact that one showed up after your revelation proves your dream wasn't a coincidence."

The boy fished out one of the charms he'd given Ryuko and Ashe, differently colored and noticeably more stuffed. "I gave you a charm like this; you still have it, right?"

"Yeah, I have it in my back pocket, why?" Ryuko replied.

"Then I'm sure you'll be fine!" Namiko assured. After a moment the smile slowly faded. "… M-Maybe… we shouldn't hang out, though…"

"What?!" Ryuko shouted back. "Why the hell not?!"

Namiko flinched and looked down. "I-I mean, I've always attracted spirits, I'm sure you'd be safer if you kept away, and happier if you didn't have to deal with these things-"

Before Namiko could finish, Ryuko slapped him upside the head. "Newsflash, idiot, I'm your friend!"

Namiko held a hand to his face in shock, looking back up.

"Look, the way I see it, I'm gonna have to deal with this crap, with you around or not. The least you could do is have my back, alright man?" Ryuko asked. "C'mon. You're a weirdo, but you're my buddy. That means we help each other out, got it?"

"...Yeah, o-ok!" The boy responded, wiping his face. "Sorry about that…"

"'s fine," Ryuko waved off. "Just don't forget, I'm here for you, man." She turned and gave him a serious look. "Got it?"

Namiko's smile returned. "Got it!"

* * *

"…so basically, the charms are filled with a sort of "exorcism powder" if you get what I mean." Namiko finished explaining as he sat on his bed. Compared to Ryuko's, his room was incredibly clean but there were all sorts of odd relics and likely occult imagery, in addition to things such as papyrus scroll and jars of herbs.

"I don't know what I expected from your room," Ryuko commented as she looked around in surprise. "But I think I get what you mean… it's like a Repel from Pokemon!"

Namiko hung his head in defeat. "Yeah… sure…"

"Sweet! You're a lifesaver, dude!" Snickering to herself, she slapped Namiko on the back. "What would I do without ya?"

Namiko twiddled his fingers as he let out an awkward laugh.

Again a voice echoed in Ryuko's mind, like a faint murmur.

"…**Fool's influence… future… grim."**

Ryuko suppressed a shudder at that. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Namiko asked.

"Don't screw around, I know you can hear stuff like this!" Ryuko replied. "That weird voice… I heard it back then too!"

"Last time? Oh you mean when you asked about-" After a brief moment of confusion, Namiko's face slowly began to brighten. "C-Can you hear Bolas, Ryuko-chan?!" Quickly, he turned to a space beside him and spoke aloud. "Bolas? Hey, try saying something to Ryuko-chan like this!"

There was a period of silence, and then: **"…hear me when I focus?"**

"GAH! THERE IT IS AGAIN!" Ryuko shouted out, scooting back on the bed. "ONE OF THOSE WEIRD THINGS IS HERE!"

Namiko, on the other hand, was visibly _ecstatic_. "Oh my gods, this is incredible!" the boy took Ryuko's hands in his. "I _KNEW_ YOU WERE SPECIAL!" Just as quick he pulled Ryuko into a hug. "You're the first person to ever hear him besides me!"

"Wha-huh-what the heck is going on?!" Ryuko shouted.

At that the boy fell onto her like a sack of potatoes.

"HUH?! Sh-shit, Nami-kun, what happened?!"

"I-I'm fine…" Namiko managed, regaining consciousness as quick as he'd lost it. "I think… it's just it took a bit more energy than I thought; Bolas is channeled through me, so if he communicated with you it was also through me, and that kinda thing takes a lot of energy if the other person isn't as spiritually tuned…" He flopped onto his bed. "I'm just… gonna… take a nap…" As soon as he finished speaking though he began to softly snore.

"You-! I-! UGH! OH COME ON!" Ryuko shouted, running her fingers through her hair. "I JUST GOT MORE QUESTIONS THAN I DO ANSWERS NOW!"

* * *

"Ugh… what a day… evenin', Ashe-chan," Ryuko muttered absentmindedly as she opened the door.

She was met with a laugh as the scot gathered her wraps. "Ain' i-ta bit early for someone like you to be tuckered out? I'm about headed out for practice."

"Long day," Ryuko repeated. "Saw a lotta weird things in the city. Shit you wouldn't believe…"

"Ahhh, can't be worse than Baltimore." Ashe waved off as she gave her roommate a pat on the back. "Don't bother waitin' up for me, gon be a late night!"

"G'night!" Ryuko called back. As the door clicked shut, she let out a sigh, before entering the shower, glad to have the room to herself for a brief period.

After a quick change of clothes and a warm bath, Ryuko lay on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling with a mix of wonder and worry. _"What the hell kinda situation am I in now? Ghosts… spirits… monsters… all that crap used to be fairy tales just a few weeks ago. Now it's real? Now I'm caught up in this insane fortune-telling nonsense? And what Boss Big Nose said…"_

"_It seems you will soon make one if not many crucial decisions! The decisions you make will no doubt impact you for a very long time. Even if you make the best decisions, however, you will face _immense_ opposition."_

"_You'll no doubt feel lost at times, but I wonder if you have it in you to walk the right path?"_

"_Walk the paths you choose."_

Ryuko grit her teeth in frustration, before lashing out, punching the wall next to her so hard, a visible dent could be seen. "FUCK!" Looking up at the ceiling angrily, she pointed an accusatory finger at it. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU PICK ME, HUH?! WELL?! NAMI-KUN SHOWED ME ALL THAT CREEPY SPIRIT CRAP'S REAL, SO ONE OF YOU ASSHOLES HAS GOTTA BE REAL, TOO! ANSWER ME!" Her frustration reaching a boiling point, she sat up, holding her head in her hands. "Damnit… why the hell me?! Out of all the college students, out of all the girls in the world, why'd _I_ have to be the idiot dragged into all this weirdness?! Couldn't you pick another loser to be your 'chosen one' or something?! I'm in college, I already have enough world-ending crap to deal with! SO ANSWER ME, DAMNIT!" WHY'D YOU PICK ME?!"

Despite her impassioned plea to the heavens, Ryuko received nothing but silence in reply.

"…figures. All of you bastards only seem to show up to pile on the issues, never really solve them," Ryuko muttered bitterly. "Always have since I was a kid. Why break your perfect record of inattendance now." Letting out a deep sigh, Ryuko leaned back on her bed, the rage still simmering underneath. "Look. I don't know if this god crap is real, but I might as well give it a shot… I dunno what the hell this world is. I just got here a few days ago, and I can already tell that I'm in over my head here… I just… I'm afraid of losing something if I keep going. My college career? My chance at scoring with all the babes here? My… life… Or…" Ryuko clenched her fists, her nails digging into the heels of her palms. "Or anyone I care about. So if you are real just… please. Protect me. I don't wanna leave this place yet. I still have unfinished business. And protect Nami-kun, too. He's a dumbass, but he's a good kid. Even if he doesn't think so."

Once more, silence reigned over the room, but for some reason, it wasn't so bad anymore.

Ryuko looked out the window, the orange lights of the city contrasting with the pale white of the moon as they mixed with the darkness of the night shadows. And somehow, Ryuko felt a small sense of peace. Silently, she leaned into her bed, letting sleep overtake her once more.

* * *

_I'm hard as nails, it ain't hard to tell, I break'em down whether they're solid or frail..._

_**P O W**_

_**WHAM**_

_**P O P**_

Punch after punch against the bags echoed in the empty gym; empty save one figure striking in near perfect rhythm.

_Unlike the rest I'm independent. It's my first breath, first test…_

Under her breath a redhead was murmuring lyrics between breaths. _"_First the right-" **BAM **"then the worst _left!_" **BOOM**

Unbeknownst to the scrappy redhead, several red lines began to form on the gym's floor. Their path was quickly carving its way towards the girl herself, their crimson coloration growing in intensity.

"Hey, Ashely!"

At that she stepped away, taking her one earbud out. "Yeah?"

Immediately the red lines faded away as a rugged man stepped out of the office with a bag over his shoulder. "I'm headin' out for the night. You can stay if ya want, but mind lockin' up?"

Ashe checked her phone. "_Huh, earlier than normal?"_ She quickly turned back. "Yeah, sure! G'night coach!"

As the man walked away, the red lines returned, pulsing louder and louder. As the lights increased in luminosity, a figure began to form from the lines.

As she placed both earbuds in this time, she cranked the music up while all but the main light was turned off. "Awesome, now I can _really_ cut loose…"

The figure solidified, before letting out a ragged breath. Raising two bloodied hands, the figure stepped closer to the oblivious Ashely.

"_**Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil**_!"

Ashe suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. As she raised her jacket in confusion, she suddenly felt a cold breath on her neck.

"_**Just believe in myself, won't rely on others**_

_**Get this power to wipe out the havoc and anarchy-"**_

Ashe turned around, raising her fists ready to fight. Her eyes widened in horror at the figure before her. Before she could even scream, the figure lunged, and they both vanished in a shadow of red and black.

* * *

**A/N (Nerd-Bot): DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! If you're still following us, great! As you can see, we're finally entering into the supernatural stuff of Persona, and trust us, it's not gonna disappoint. Prower actually wanted us to have a bit longer of a slow burn, but I wanted to get the ball rolling finally. Also, for folks of you who follow my own page, I promise I haven't forgotten about my stories. Working on Danganronpa: Condemnation of the Guilty as we speak.**

**New Cast:  
Bakahatsu: NB  
Sho: IQ  
Emo kid: IQ  
Minarai: IQ  
Bolas: IQ**


	6. Chapter 6

"SHITSHITSHIT!" Ryuko yelled out as she practically barreled her way through Osaka's streets as she rushed towards the train station. "GODDAMNIT, I'M GONNA BE LATE!" Turning a corner, she practically smashed down the station's doors, before she stumbled up to the front desk. "Train… college… leave yet…?"

"Hm?" The man at the front desk gave her a lazy frown. "Yaso-Ikari University? Train left fifteen minutes ago. Next one's gonna come in… about an hour, kid."

Ryuko could feel her eye twitch in annoyance. "Oh… perfect." She trudged off, before slouching in one of the nearby chairs. "Goddamnit, I knew I shouldn't've relied on Ashe to wake me up in the morning. I swear, if she turned out to be staying out late _again_, I'm gonna throttle her!" A few seconds passed, before a familiar sound echoed through the nearly-empty station. "Right… skipped breakfast to try and make it. That's a waste of my time… Maybe there's a diner near here…"

* * *

"_Man, Kogami-sensei's gonna kill me,"_ Ryuko thought to herself as she walked through the campus. _"Maybe if I'm lucky, we won't see each o-"_

"Ryuko-san?" A familiar voice called.

"…_well, shit." _Swallowing nervously, Ryuko turned around, waving awkwardly to her mythology teacher. "Heyyyy, Kogami-sensei! How's it going?"

To her surprise the teacher seemed more relieved than upset. "Where were you this morning?"

"I missed my train this morning…" Ryuko replied in embarrassment. "Had to wait an hour before the next one came, and I barely made it for that one, too."

"Is that all? Interesting…" The teacher gave her a stern look. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you? Especially so early in the year…"

"N-no! Never, sensei!" Ryuko stammered out. "What's with this whole interrogation anyways? This was my first time missing your class! Don't teachers have a leniency policy?"

Kogami shook her head. "Sorry, sorry, just wanted to be sure. Namiko-kun seemed on pins and needles the whole class. Since you two arrived together, I worried something had happened to you or you'd gotten involved in something." At that her expression brightened. "Actually, I suppose you could make up for your absence by helping Namiko-kun, something was clearly ailing him. I can't really deal with student drama for obvious reasons, but it goes noticed."

"Oh yeah, he was probably worried when I wasn't on the train…" Ryuko realized. "Thanks for the head's up, I'll go look for him when I can. …wait, what time is it?"

Kogami whipped out her phone. "It's about...two minutes until third period starts-"

_**POOF!**_

Before Kogami could even finish speaking, all that remained of Ryuko was a ball of dust.

* * *

Ryuko let out a tired sigh as she leaned back in a nearby bench. "Jeez, today was an absolute trainwreck… I'm so gonna kill Ashe for this."

After a brief moment of silence there was a series of loud footsteps and a voice, "...ryukothEREYOUARECMON**WEGOTTA**-" followed by a painful looking crash into the bench from a white haired blur.

"N-Nami-kun?!" Ryuko stammered out. "What's gotten into you?!"

Not even paying mind any bruises he'd earned, the boy grabbed Ryuko by the arm and, with more strength than anyone could expect,yanked her from her seat and forced her into a full blown sprint. "WE HAVE TO GO **NOW!**"

* * *

"Hurry!" Namiko cried, pretty much dragging a still confused Ryuko by the hand as he sprinted from street to street, oblivious to anything going on around them.

"Wait, where are we going?!" Ryuko cried out. "And slow down! You got longer legs than I do!"

"I don't know!" Namiko shot back over his shoulder. "But if we don't hurry, Ashely-san might be gone for good, that's the one thing I DO know!"

In record time the two were at the martial arts gym Ashely trained at, but yellow tape gated off the entire area as people looked on in curiosity. All over the area were "BIOHAZARD" warnings, but Namiko ignored them and began feeling about like a mime trapped in a box, as if patting down an invisible wall as he ventured beyond the tape, all the while chanting under his breath and keeping his eyes closed.

"Biohazard… what? When did this happen?" Ryuko cried out. She grabbed at Namiko's shoulder. "She's here?!"

"Shhh!" Namiko shushed, yanking his shoulder away with unprecedented violence as he began to make smaller movements in his 'searching'. Another bystander answered Ryuko.

"Your guess is as good as any of ours, little miss." The man said, from his appearance he seemed to be a member of the gym. "None of us from the gym know what's going on, heck we don't even know what could've happened to contaminate this area to begin with. No major gas lines run under it or the like…"

"Ryuko, here!" Namiko called, before visibly straining himself against the air itself, when suddenly, before Ryuko's very own eyes, reality itself seemed to open up like a vault door, cast open by a heavily breathing Namiko, hands on his knees. "In… there…"

Eyes widening in shock, memories of a few days ago rushed back to Ryuko's mind.

"_This coming year will be a turning point in your life, do not forget that! The nature of this place will become clear once the nature of your _power_ manifests."_

Without a moment's hesitation, Ryuko grabbed Namiko by the back of his collar, before leaping in through the vault's doors. _"I'm coming, Ashe! Don't worry! We're coming to get you out of there!"_

In a blink the two vanished from the scene, leaving the man dazed and looking around. "...huh? Was… was I talking to someone? Must be imagining things…"

* * *

"Ryuko… RYUKO-CHAN!" A voice jolted Ryuko awake, Namiko over her, shaking her awake with a hand black as scorched earth, now pulsating with a soft light that ran along the hand and arm, filling out a series of runic markings and sigils. "Wake up, please!"

"What… huh…" Ryuko got up with a groan of pain. "Ugh… what hit me? And what happened to your hand?"

Namiko shook his head. "It's channeling stuff, I'll explain later. Right now though, look around!"

As Ryuko stood herself up and her vision returned in full, she nearly lost her balance completely once again. The two were on a pedestal connecting to many precarious walkways layering over one another like a labyrinth of pathways, and faint city lights illuminated it all with a skyline Ryuko recognized as that of Boston from Ashely's photos. The thing that threw Ryuko for a loop, however, was what was hanging under each walkway both high above and down below: Bodies. Hundreds if not thousands in total as they stretched as far as the eye could see, burlap sack body bags that rendered the cadavers nameless and faceless hanging from a metal noose made from chains. The more gruesome specimens had red splotches on the sacks. In the sky high above, there was a blood red tinge and horrifyingly mocking and scornful faces gazing down at all of it.

"What… what is this place?" Ryuko whispered in horror. She took a step back in surprise, unnerved. "Is Ashe-chan really in this place?"

"Yeah, all my guides are in agreement, and the only other time that happened was when I found you." The boy was visibly shaking but nonetheless took the lead, running westward without hesitation. "Follow me, Bolas will guide us!" Not even giving Ryuko a chance to ask anything else, Namiko broke into a full run with his hand held out in front. "...and stay away from any creatures you spot!"

"Bolas? Wait, creatures?" Ryuko repeated. "We're not alone here?!" Despite her questioning, Namiko didn't say a word. _"He's really focused, isn't he? Even though Ashe really hasn't been treating him well, he's still willing to help her out and save her…"_ The two quickly reached a dead end ledge, and there was a disturbing gurgling behind them. Ryuko skidded to a stop at the sound. "Namiko… what was that?" The pair slowly turned around, and they both took a step back at the sight of the creatures that lay before them.

Staring the duo down were odd, hideous blob creatures, masses an inky black. Their bodies, if you could even call them that, were a tangle of limbs that broke off and reformed in a continuous cycle. Strange, intimidating blue masks served as the creatures' faces, staring soullessly at the duo. Slowly, the monsters inched forwards like slugs, leaving a putrid black trail behind.

"Damnit!" Namiko cried out, looking around wildly. "Guys?!" The boy began yelling at the air as he often did, more frantic than ever.

As the creatures slowly began to inch closer and closer, Ryuko grit her teeth. _"It's… that _thing _from before. I don't think we can fight something like this! Especially since we're unarmed… our only choice is to…" _Suddenly, she grabbed Namiko by the arm, startling the mystic. "JUMP!" Without a second of further thought, Ryuko leaped off of the cliff, taking Namiko with her. The two tumbled downward, leaving the strange monsters alone atop the cliff.

Reality itself shifted and the two found their momentum shifted with it, going from falling to rolling across another walkway, a gateway in front of them leading to a gym. Through windows one could see more bodies in place of the punching bags, with bruises to show for it.

"T-there…" Namiko managed, voice and body shaking as he reflexively clung to Ryuko. "But… I can feel something else… it's horrible…" he whispered.

Ryuko nodded at that. "Yeah… I can tell." Clenching a fist, she took a step forward. "But Ashe-chan's in there, and we're not leaving without her." She threw the gate open and immediately the light behind them was sealed off, leaving them in an interior larger than should've been possible. At the center of the gym, in a ring, were two identical figures; one was exhausted, the other was standing in a mix of scowling and smirking.

"Oh…" one of the figures said. "It's you…" The figure looked up, before turning to Namiko and Ryuko. It was Ashely. Or was it not? The Ashely-NotAshely took a step forward, revealing her appearance to the pair. Half of her face was rotted away yet still intact, resembling a frozen corpse. Her hands were perpetually dripping blood, the sound of the droplets echoing throughout the gym. She held up her hands, before punching a fist into a palm. "Didn't expect you to get here so soon."

"Get… the fuck… OUTTA MY DAMN HEAD!" the other Ashely screamed before throwing a punch that completely whiffed as the doppelganger sidestepped with ease. It was clear this had been going on for a long time based on the sheer exhaustion Ashely was displaying.

"Ashely-san!" Namiko cried, and without thinking ran forward only to be battered away by some force.

"_You_ stay out of this, _freak_," the entity spat out in disgust. She then flashed him a cruel grin. "Yeah… freak. Waste of air. Loveless monster." She turned to Ashely and gave her a similar look. "Face it. That's what you think of him. All you want to do is see him shrivel up and die. Just like…"

"I SAID SHUT IT!" Ashely screeched before punching again only to throw a surprise headbut that landed with a sickening crack before she fell to one knee as the doppelganger looked only dazed.

Growling in annoyance, the clone stepped forward, before grabbing Ashely by the hair roughly. "You just don't _get it_, do you?!"

_**CRUNCH!**_

The copy struck out with a powerful uppercut, sending Ashe sprawling across the floor of the arena.

"This is what you want. _I _am what you want. Don't blame me for the fact that you can't admit it!" the monster scolded.

As Ashe coughed up blood, Namiko made another run only to get battered away like a ragdoll over and over, each time leaving a massive bruise as something struck him. "GET AWAY!" He screamed, desperation seeping from his voice as hope began to fade.

Ashely turned her head weakly to see the boy, mouthing something inaudible.

"Namiko, stop it!" Ryuko commanded. "All you're doing is killing yourself!"

"Killing himself?" The entity chuckled. "Now _that_ takes us back…" she looked over her shoulder to Ashely. "Doesn't it?"

The girl was speechless at this point, gritting her teeth as tears streaking down her face. "…run…" She murmured.

"Wha-? N-No…" Namiko began, before being cut off.

"I SAID GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Ashely screamed. "I WON'T CARRY YOUR DEATH ON MY SHOULDERS TOO!" No sooner had the sentence escaped her mouth than the girl fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands, her white wraps pink with blood and tears.

"Too…" Ryuko repeated. Suddenly, everything began to come together. The bloodied wraps. Her hatred of being popular. The taunts from the monster. "…someone died, didn't they?" Ryuko asked. "And you blame yourself."

"Oh, well what do you know?" The monster taunted. "She _can_ think!" At the horrified sight of the three students, the double flashed a wicked smile. "How long has it been now... four years? Four long, torturous years since we killed him. What was his name again?" The beast smirked arrogantly at Ashe. "Oh, what do we care, anyways? Not like he mattered at all! He definitely didn't think so!" Laughing at her own sick joke, the monster held up her hands. "We're murderers. Killers. Our eternal reward is to seal ourselves away…"

"Please…" The redhead whispered, voice cracking, "no more…" the words echoed in the empty room, followed only by sobs as the girl wiped her eyes of tears only for twice as many to take their place.

Growling in a vicious fury, Ryuko stepped forward. "Shut the Hell up!" She barked. "She's not the kind of person you say she is! She's-"

"What?" The mirror scoffed. "She's 'nice to us' or some crap like that? Well… here's some news for you, shortie." She leaned down, glaring smugly at Ryuko and Namiko. "She doesn't like you. Not one bit. We don't spend time with ants like you because we truly care. We do it to alleviate our own guilt. To feel that we're better people than we are. Or ever will be." She strode back over to Ashely, cupping the girl's chin in her hands. "Isn't that right…"

As Ashely stared into the golden eyes before her, she felt her voice disappear as no matter how hard she tried, no words left her mouth and she began to choke on nothing.

At the sight of her friend being broken by the monster duplicate, Ryuko's eyes narrowed in rage. "Let go of her!" she screamed out in anger, pounding away on the invisible barricade. "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

The creature ignored her, as a strange velvet blue energy began flowing out of Ashely's body and into hers. "Let the blood overflow you... and the current shall drag you down into the depths…"

"No...no!" Namiko cried out, falling to his knees as he banged a fist on the barrier in vain. "I can't….do anything…" he whispered, tears forming in his own eyes.

Ryuko could only stand there silently, the only thing she could hear being the beating of her heart. _"Goddamnit… This can't be happening… this can't be real!"_ Her breath became more haggard as she clenched her fists in impotent rage. She looked at her own reflection in the barrier, glaring at herself.

"_Walk the paths you choose."_

Ryuko raised a hand to her chest, and slowly, gradually, her heartbeat grew louder. It was if the drums of war had been playing in her chest all this time, echoing loud enough to shake the heavens themselves. "'Walk the paths I choose', huh?"

_**Lub dub… lub dub…**_

"_Have you lifted the veil?"_

The college student's eyes widened in surprise. "What…?"

"_Have you seen the darkness within? That which lies inside you, that which coats every aspect of this mortal plane…"_

Time slowed down, Namiko's pounding becoming muted, the draining of essence halting to a crawl, the world monochrome.

The voice continued. "_In all souls there is light, in all hearts there is darkness."_

The monochrome world showed the true nature of the arena; spilling out from the doppleganger was dozens of the same black monsters from before, hidden to the eye.

"_WIll you take the spear of your soul and fight? Will you take the armor of your heart and stand?"_

Ryuko took in a breath, closing her eyes. "Will I?" Immediately, they snapped open, revealing a mystical orange glow to them. "Do you even need to ask?"

There was a faint, feminine laugh, and the voice became clearer, the only sound not muted. "Then grab that spear, don your armor. There is no meaning to light nor dark, only when you embrace both will you understand. Find your own meaning to each, walk your own path, SIGN THE CONTRACT!"

In a flash everything resumed, the sounds and colors flooding into Ryuko's perceptions once more, the only thing the same her heartbeat echoing in her ears.

_**Lub dub… lub dub…**_

The sound of a heartbeat slowing down echoed throughout the gymnasium, thrumming through the ears of everyone present.

At the heartbeat the copy's manic smile slowly turned to a frown, and with a gesture she held Ashe's head aside, the flow of energy fading. "Now what?!"

"_Thou art I….and I am thou…"_

"Hah… hah… hah…" Another sound soon filled the air. Ryuko stood before the barrier, her fists shaking in absolute fury. Silently, she stared up at the Shadow, and a massive orange aura surrounded her body, slowly taking the form of a humanoid figure. Simultaneously, an ornate golden lock, carved with elegant vines and blooming flowers, formed directly above her heart, as if it was attached to her very soul.

As the student stood, breathing ragged, the monster stared her down from her vantage. "What the bloody hell do you think you can do? Don't you fucking look at me like-!"

"_I have answered thy call… of sorrow… of rage…"_

"Shut. Your damn. Mouth." Ryuko hissed out, her anger stunning the creature at its severity. Ryuko raised a hand to the lock, gripping it tightly. "You hurt Ashe. You mocked Namiko. You tried to kill me. You don't _get_ to talk anymore."

"_Unleash me from my cage… and thy will shall be done… unchain me, and wrap those same chains around our enemies! Set free all your hatred, and set forth against the fates who would declare themselves judge and jury so that we become THEIR executioner!"_

Ryuko stared upward, gazing into whatever twisted soul the Ashely duplicate had with complete and utter hatred. She squeezed the lock even tighter, and soon small hairline fractures began to form across the metal. "I don't know what the hell you are, and I don't care. You're dying. TODAY."

"_I am the goddess of battle, the sacred deity that shall bless you… Now… INVOKE THE WORDS THAT SHALL GUIDE YOU TO VICTORY!"_

"**PERSONA**!"

With that shout of rage, Ryuko tore off the lock, shattering it into pieces. Clenching her fist around the pieces of the broken lock, she thrust her arm forward, and with a punch, the barrier that sealed her away from the arena was destroyed, rendered into nothing more than dust.

As the shocked double looked on, Ryuko stepped forward, ascending into the arena. Upon her heart, the place where the lock had once been was now replaced by a pure white lotus, untainted by the touch of evil. "C'mon… let's kick this monster to the curb…" Behind her, an entirely new entity had formed. It was a female figure, twice the height of Ryuko herself. Her entire frame was a shining shimmering gold, as if she were clad in a suit of armor, and her body was clad in the hide of multiple beasts. Serving as a guard of her right shoulder was the head of a lion, roaring silently in at any oncoming foes. Upon her back was the skinned hide of a buffalo, with the head of the buffalo serving as a breastplate, its stare ready to mow down anything that tried to come near. The being's face was covered with a tiger-patterned metal mask, giving the appearance of a ferocious beast, and underneath could be seen a pair of golden-colored eyes narrowed in barely-concealed anger. Her ebony hair flowed gracefully and gently downward. The woman had ten arms, similarly encased in gold, and connected to each other by shining golden chains. Eight of the arms held a ferocious weapon, from clubs, to tridents, to swords, to a bow and arrow while the warrior's final two hands were clasped together in prayer, ready and waiting calmly.

"_Durga…"_

The Shadow glared at Ryuko in rage. "Seems the pipsqueak can fight after all, can she?" She snarled sadistically. "Fine by me… I'll kill you, and then finish my meal in peace!"

Shadows spilled into the arena, forming a pool of black ooze that consumed both Ashe and her copy, moving over them like a tide until one body fell from the arena at Namiko's feet. As the boy quickly tried to move Ashe aside, the mass grew into a monstrous form that towered over everything, at least six meters if not seven in height. Like an animal shedding its skin the sludge hardened, cracked, and fell apart. From inside a single massive talon reached out, then another, which forced the opening all the way apart to reveal an unidentifiable animal skull adorning a pitch black body coated in the unmistakable maroon of dried blood, a fur pelt around its entire upper body but showing skin under it as the hairs were visibly coarse and matted, dried blood and grime making a mess of the entire creature. The talons were a silvery grey turning pitch black at the base, and its body was wrapped in chains that clearly did nothing to restrain it. Crows flocked out in all directions and a beast like roar echoed in the chamber at deafening volume before a far more monstrous tone of the same voice from before spoke, layered over itself. At least the torso was visible, revealing a seen through ribcage with heart beating behind the many chains and pelt, hemorrhaging rapidly as blood trickled down through the entire upper body leaving its sparse fabrics and entire lower body, partially behind a rawhide veil stretching from waist to ankle but riddled with tears, dyed a permanent crimson red. All the red was offset by a steady cryogenic blueish white breath that settled across the creature as it poured out of the skull's mouth.

"_We are symbiotic, behold your heart's desire…"_ The beast let out another roar as a cheshire smile and mouth appeared under the skull, all fangs and serpentine slits for pupils. "I'll never be forgotten! If I'm dragged down, I'm taking all of you with me!"

Durga raised her weapons, and in sync, Ryuko raised her fists, breathing heavily as she felt anger, hatred, wrath, scorn, all of it flow through her like blood.

_**"Your rage... your pain... succumb to it... let it feed into you! Shed the skin of humanity you have wrapped around yourself! Become like the beast! Roaring and clawing! Tearing down all those who would deprive you of what you want! Let loose the animal within and consume all your prey before you!"**_

As the shadow slashed the ring of the arena away, Namiko scrambled to his feet. "R-Ryuko-chan!" The boy cringed as soon as he raised his voice, holding both hands to his head in recoil. "I… I don't know what it is, but it's like i can see inside it. Be careful! It's about to try and freeze us over completely!"

"Thanks for the advice, Nami-kun," Ryuko replied in an eerie calm. "Now then. If you wanna surrender now, whatever you are, do it now, and I won't hurt you as bad as I want."

The shadow just flung debris her way. "I'll crush your bones, drown you in your own blood, and leave what's left to the ravens!"

"Have it your way," Ryuko spat back. Raising her hand to the air, she snapped her fingers. "Durga!"

The tiger-masked woman charged forward at high speeds, before thrusting a pair of spears towards the beastial Shadow. Shockingly, the Shadow didn't even flinch at the strike, the points shattering harmlessly on the monster's fur pelt. Astonished, Durga looked up at her weapons, which was entirely the wrong thing to do.

The grin reappeared once more. "Bad idea."

_CRASH!_

Like a storm of jagged metal, massive shards of a ice pelted Durga hard enough to send her and Ryuko both hurtling to the area's wall, leaving an indent and a frozen crater. Namiko was already hurrying over as the shadow cackled in the distance.

"Ryuko-chan!" The boy cried out, and from the satchel he'd brought he fished around. "H-hold still, can you hear me?!"

Ryuko grit her teeth, grabbing at her shoulder in pain "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just a scratch." Despite her visible wince of pain, she got back to her feet, clearly ready to try the same plan again.

Namiko quickly held a hand in front of her. "Ryuko, stop!" As he grabbed her wrist she could swear static went through her head and a third voice cut in.

"_She needs a coordinated plan of attack, rushing in is a death sentence." _

Immediately, Ryuko did a double take. "What the-?!" As Ryuko turned around, she began to see strange ripples form around Namiko, as if he was shedding parts of his skin to reveal something entirely hidden from view before. Now, as if rising out of Namiko's shadow cast across the wall, was a strange figure, not quite alien, but definitely not human. It resembled a living shadow, with yellow eyes and mouth glowing in on its dark skin.

Namiko looked at the duplicate with the same awe. "Is-is that...you, Bolas?"

The figure examined its own hands, slowly blinking. "_...It would appear so." _It turns its yellow, featureless eyes on Ryuko. "_It would seem there's even more to her than we thought."_

A single, piercing roar got their attention as crows began to flock to the center stage of the arena, and the voice cut into Ryuko's head once more. "_We'll discuss this later, focus!"_

Namiko scrambled to the side. "R-Right! Ryuko-chan, you can't go head in, like he said, you'll be ripped to pieces, if not by shards then by those talons!"

Bolas nodded in sync. "_Its physical capabilities from what I can tell dwarf all other aspects, you can't rely on anything physical of your own, do you have some sort of magic like the ice its used? Something different, this 'Durga' doesn't seem to be able to handle ice herself, if anything it's a weakness for you."_

Namiko gazed up at the spirit. "It… seems similar enough to shadows." At Ryuko's confusions he continued. "Shadows have affinities and weaknesses, and they can be exploited. The same goes for you."

"Alright, if physical doesn't work, let's try something else! Garu!" The words flowed from her mouth with surprising ease, despite never speaking or hearing them in her life. The Persona pressed its palms together, forming a glowing green orb of wind. Like a master of the shot put, she lobbed it forward, aimed straight for the Shadow's skull.

_FWOOSH!_

In a flash of green winds, the crows were dispersed like mist and the creature let out a very clear roar of discomfort as it stumbled back wide open, it's hide temporarily blown away.

Namiko did a small fist pump. "T-that did it! It must have a weakness to wind based attacks! And the hide is knocked aside, now's your chance!"

"Hell yeah, now we're talking!" Ryuko cheered. "Let's rough it up, Durga!" With a mighty battlecry, both Persona and Master leaped onto the beast, Durga slicing and punching at it with its myriad weapons, while Ryuko kicked it in the side as hard as she could, despite how blatant it was that Durga was doing all the damage.

"_Back up! It's going to recover!" _Bolas cut in.

"Recover?" Ryuko repeated. "I thought you said-!"

"_NOW!_

No sooner had the unpleasant sound of an internal scream gone off in Ryuko's head did she barely backstep out of grabbing range as a talon missed her by mere inches while the abomination brought itself back up to its full, towering height. "I admit...THAT one _hurt!_"

Another roar at much closer range brought intense pain to Ryuko's ears and as two claws were plunged into the ground, a pillar of ice shot up, straight towards Ryuko.

"Shit!" Immediately, Ryuko turned to Durga. "Garu, NOW!"

Raising its palms, Durga slammed another sphere of wind into the ground, propelling both Ryuko and the Persona back several meters, just out of range of the ice pillar.

"Goddamnit…" Ryuko huffed out. "That was too close…"

A crash jutted her to attention as the beast nearly cleared the distance with mere couple of steps as a talon came dangerously close once more. "AGH! Stay still!" Throwing its head back, the creature's eyes gleamed ruby red and the crows circles overhead in sudden unison. "CROWSTORM!"

Ryuko's eyes widened as she saw a whirlwind of black feathers and sharpened beaks descend upon her, the air filled with the sound of hellish cawing and screeching. "Shit, no!" Instinctively, she raised her arms to cover her face, though she knew that whatever she did wouldn't help much.

_**THOOM!**_

The sky was filled with a massive explosion of dust and feathers, sending crows flying everywhere. "Huh?" Ryuko looked up in surprise to see Durga standing up, her palms outstretched as the Garu spell died down.

"What?!"

Namiko's eyes lit up. "That's it! Ryuko, do that again!"

"Right!" Turning to her Persona, the student aimed forward at the Shadow and its storm of avian atrocities. "Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast! Garu!"

The goddess flew forward, surrounding her hands in spheres of wind. Spinning like a top, she rammed straight into the Shadow, blasting it with multiple wind blasts at the same time, arms moving at speeds faster than the eye could track.

The monster recoiled in visible pain as its pelt was sent flailing in the wind, as if it would completely rip off at any moment, and the icy mist and ravens instantly dispersed. For better or worse they now had a clear view of the gruesome creature as it fell to one knee.

"_That's it, attack it now!" _Bolas echoed.

"Alright, Durga!" Ryuko commanded. "Hit 'em with everything you've got!"

With an inhuman war cry, the multi-limbed creature rushed forward, stabbing at the Shadow with spears, blades, chakrams, and hands, impaling it multiple times over with its myriad weapons, refusing to let up for even a moment against the powerful adversary.

Blood began to gush even more copiously out of its already hemorrhaging body, before a talon grabbed one of the weapons impaling it. "You...insects!"

With one motion the weapons were cast out and the blood began to ripple before a talon dug into the pool, swiping forward and coating Durga in crimson. "TYPE O FREEZE!"

At once, the blood hardened, going from flowing liquid into hardened points. It was as if the essence had turned into a red iron maiden, impaling Durga throughout her entire frame like stakes.

"GYYAAAAAUUUUUUGH!" Letting out a bloodcurdling screech, Ryuko clutched at her body, feeling the searing pain of the sharpened points echo across her entire frame, the pain maddeningly intense.

"RYUKO, LOOK OUT!"

Namiko's voice fell on deaf ears as the girl looked up, her gaze refocusing just in time to see a massive talon rear back and come crashing down on Ryuko.

_**KSHUNK!**_

Ryuko winced in pain as she felt her entire shoulder tear open, the pain nearly making her collapse. However, despite this, she felt no blood fall. Tentatively, she looked up to see Durga, standing above her, with the Shadow's claw embedded deep within her torso. The Persona looked back towards her master, nodding once as she faded away into nothingness.

The mist began to truly pour out the skull now as it was clearly breathing heavily. "Hah…..Hah….."

In a flash an unseen force pulled Ryuko back. When she came to a stop she realized it was like her own shadow had pulled her back to Namiko, who was already going through the bag he'd been rummaging in before. "Ryuko, stay still!" He brought out a small bundle of herbal powder, putting it across her shoulder. The blood mixed in and it became like a paste that stung at first but quickly soothed.

"Hah… huh…?" Ryuko patted her shoulder, the pain fading away slowly. "What… what the hell was that stuff?"

The boy mustered a smile. "Heheh, it's a little thing I managed to put together a while back. It's really just over the counter medicine with some herbs of mine, something about this world-"

A roar cut them off as a shell of ice encased the monster, seeping into its wounds and repairing them like a crystalline filling.

Again Bolas's voice projected itself into Ryuko's mind, and from his expression Namiko's as well. "_It's using ice to supplement itself, expect it to keep fighting as if it was at full capacity!"_

Namiko paled as he looked to Ryuko. "T-That thing of yours, it looked like it disappeared, is it back yet?!"

"I dunno!" Ryuko shouted back. Immediately, she planted her hand on her chest, the white lotus reforming over her heart. "Let's test it out!" With a sharp tug, she ripped out the flower, before crushing it in her palm. "DURGA!"

With a ferocious war cry, the tiger-masked creature reformed in front of her master, looking renewed as she scraped her myriad weapons against one another.

The monster's shell began to crack before bursting all at once, the roar shaking the entire arena as the monster began to lumber forward into a run towards them.

Durga rushed forward, jabbing forward with its spears. Though most of the strikes barely scratched the thick hide of the massive beast, a few pokes managed to weave past its defenses, striking at its defenseless flesh underneath. Letting out a ferocious roar, the Shadow responded by raising a massive claw and smashing it down, intent on crushing the Persona flat. "Quick, dodge!" Ryuko commanded. On her word, the goddess leaped backwards, before throwing its chakram, stabbing the monster in the eyes.

"GAAAAAH! YOU BITCH!" As the Shadow clawed at its face in pain. Durga raised its arms, channeling wind in its palms, before smashing the Garu attack in the beast's chin, sending it skidding back.

"Alright, now's our opening!" Ryuko called out. "Hit 'em with more stabs!"

The Persona's arms were like shining golden blurs as it repeatedly struck its target, impaling it across its body relentlessly. Despite the myriad blows, however, the Shadow recovered astonishingly quickly. Before Durga could react, a massive paw smashed into her side, knocking her aside, sending Ryuko flying with her. "That… hurt!"

"Yeah…?" Ryuko spat back. "This is just a taste of what's to come, you mangy fleabag…" Durga got back to her feet, twirling her weapons in her masterful fingers.

Letting out a terrible howl, the Shadow charged forth, blood and spittle flying from its fangs as it lunged towards the Persona and master. Before it could crunch down on its victims, however, Durga raised its spear, preventing it from closing its jaws. "Wha…?! WHAT?!"

"Have a nice flight!" Ryuko jeered, before the goddess tossed the monstrous creature upwards, before unleashing several more stabs to its now-exposed stomach. "HERE'S THE BIG ONE!" Channeling wind around its weapons, Durga lunged upwards, rocketing the Shadow up and into the ceiling of the arena, sending dust and rubble crumbling down all around the group. "Got 'em!"

As Ryuko pumped her arms, Namiko was far less excited. "R-Ryuko-chan, get away!"

"Whaddya talking about?" Ryuko asked. "I got her right where I want her!"

"_Enough…."_

"Huh?" Ryuko looked back up towards the ceiling, eyes wide. "Oh, crap…"

A massive pair of black tattered wings appeared, blowing away the smoke. Prying itself from its indent in the ceiling, the shadow dug a claw in and hung from where it was, cracks forming from its massive weight. As the dust cleared Ryuko realized, to her horror, the shadow now had a pair of raven's wings that flapped with a boom like thunder. The monster's voice echoed in their minds as Bolas's had. "_I've had enough….of all of this!"_

An otherworldly screech rang through their heads, forcing both students to their knees. Indescribably eldritch, it was as if a thousand beasts cried out in fury and pain all at once. With not a thud, but a scritch of claw on masonry, the shadow landed gently as the wings dispersed into the largest swarm of crows Ryuko had every laid eyes on, as if all the birds in an entire city had been amassed. In the haze of balck feathers was the terrifying pair of piercing ruby lights.

Namiko involuntarily stepped back. "S-s-something big is coming! This-this must be its last resort!"

"Shit!" Ryuko turned to her Persona who quickly began channeling the power of the air once more. "Durga, quick use-"

Another roar crippled Ryuko where she stood and the gleam disappeared as she looked up, before a call rang out that sent the swarm of birds into a flurry.

"**Crowstorm **_**Crassirostris**_**."**

The storm of corvids flew forward as a singular black mass, their number and size enough to blot out the sun itself in its complete darkness. Ryuko didn't even have time to _scream_ as the hellish creatures flew forward, relentless as they pecked, scratched, and clawed at their victim, intent on stripping the flesh clean from her bones.

Mist began pouring forth once more. "And now the finale! TYPE ABSOLUTE O!" the mist turned crimson red and swirled with the storm of ravens, as if a blood red ball of mist had formed around Ryuko and Durga. "_CRASH."_

"GYAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The blood shot out like a thousand sharpened needles, and Namiko couldn't even see Ryuko as a massive storm of blood, feathers, and wind erupted from where she stood. Even her screams soon faded away in the intense gust that was formed.

The misty breath poured out of the shadow once more, the beast struggling not to fall to its knees as the ravens flew away. "Hah…..Hah…..Hah…." A low chuckled echoed that escalated into a maniacal laugh. "AHah..AHAHHAAHHAHAAHHHAHAHHA!" The voice took that of Ashe's once more. "See?! Nothing can go against nature! THERE IS NO DENYING WHAT I AM!"

"Heh… hehehe… you sure about that?"

Namiko and the doppleganger both froze.

"I-Impossible!"

As both sides turned towards the increasing storm, the winds grew in intensity, growing powerful enough to slowly peel parts of the dungeon away, revealing sickly, flesh-like protrusions underneath. Two sets of eyes gleamed out of the gale-force winds, and two voices spoke as one.

"**Your judgement is at hand, parasite. For the destruction you have caused. The people you have hurt. The hatred you have sown. For these and more, your punishment is a slow and painful death."**

The tornado exploded outwards, sending flecks of blood, chunks of ice, and raven corpses flying everywhere. In the center of the carnage stood Ryuko, her body scarred and torn open, her clothes ripped, and one eye shut from the sheer pain. But there she stood. Defiant. Determined. And incredibly angry. "Durga." She silently raised an arm, pointed right towards the stunned Shadow. "Let's end this now."

The Persona flew forward, disappearing and reappearing in short bursts as it flew forward towards the Shadow. "No… no, I won't be denied!" the monstrosity screamed out. Once more, the beast surrounded herself in a thick mist. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you for sure this time! TYPE ABSOLUTE-"

Before the beast could finish its attack, Durga held up a palm, surrounding it in wind. "Garu." With that single word, the mist dispersed, undoing the monster's attack instantly.

The Shadow stepped back in horror. "Shit! No!" Desperately, it curled up, attempting to hide underneath its thick fur to absorb the blow.

"This is the end of the line!" Ryuko thrusted out a hand, directing her partner to the stunned creature. "JINPUGEKI!" With that command, Durga charged, forward, before spinning like a top. Harsh winds began to surround the spinning war deity, which slowly began to resemble a mighty drill. Shockwaves rang out as Durga slammed against the creature's hide, seemingly stopped by it once more.

"_Still not enough!" _Bolas echoed.

"I won't be stopped here!" Ryuko roared out. "I'm gonna kick your ass, damnit! NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!" As if emboldened by her master's words, Durga's winds grew more and more intense, growing in both power and speed. The rotation grew faster, and faster, until!

_**RIIIIIIIP!**_

In one swift motion, the monstrosity's hide was torn asunder, reduced to nothing but scrap in the wind. Durga's charge would not stop there, however, as she then ripped into the vulnerable flesh of the beast, flaying it alive without mercy. "GYAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!" Not a monstrous roar, but a terrifying scream rang out from the beast's lungs, before that too was reduced to shreds. The merciless goddess shredded her opponent further and further, until she tore through the Shadow completely, landing on the opposite side of the arena, revealing the massive hole torn through her prey.

The beast silently fell to the side, onto the remains of the arena with a single, massive crash. Pooling into its own blood, the creature dissolved until its 'original' body was all that remained.

Namiko quickly ran over to Ryuko, the silhouette of his own copy forming alongside him. "Ryuko-chan, are you alright?!"

She merely turned, flashing Namiko a cocky grin. "Never… better…"

_**THUD!**_

As the girl collapsed at Namiko's side the boy paled. "Oh no nononononono-" as he fumbled around desperately searching for more supplies, Bolas was more preoccupied with the ring. "..._It's still alive."_

As Namiko applied what little medicine he had left, Ryuko felt him tense up at the warning.

Weakly, Ryuko turned her head upwards, disbelieving of Bolas's words. "Damnit… this ain't good…"

The golden eyed Ashe slowly raised itself, its body bleeding even more than before and visibly seething with hatred. "I'll...I'll kill all of you...I'll feed, and feed, and feed, and I'll just keep coming back!"

_**CRACK**_

With the sickening sound of a bone breaking on impact, there was a red blur and all three saw the imposter suddenly and violently pinned to the ground, held by her shoulders as a seething Ashely had her knees planted on her arms. "You…." she whispered before rearing back a fist. "...BITCH!"

_**WHAM**__!_

There was a sickening crack as any facial bones the creature might've had were shattered before Ashely reared back her other fist.

_**WHAM!**_

Tears fell from one face to the other. "Ya think I don't know all the shit ya said?!"

_**WHAM!**_

"Ya think I didn't hate myself?! YE THINK I DIDN'T HATE WHAT I WAS DOIN' TO OTHERS?!"

_**WHAM**__!_

"These people risked everythin' fer me… to destroy YOU, sometin' born outta me! NAMIKO ALMOST KILLED HIMSELF TRYING TO SAVE ME FROM YOU, YOU FUCKIN SLAG!"

Punch after punch left the creature's face unrecognizable as it decomposed fully into a black silhouette, red splashes around it as, even after losing its resemblance, it began to leak blood from the eyes, nose, and mouth.

"Ashely-san…" Namiko began, reaching out only to silently be stopped by Ryuko.

"Because of my weakness, I caused them so much pain…" Ashely whispered, finally relenting as she slammed her fist against the shadow's chest, crying, before looking up with pure fury in her eyes. "It won't happen again, I won't let it." She reared back her fists once more, and even on the featureless face of the creature, one could see fear. "SO NEVER!"

_**WHAM!**_

"COME!"

_**WHAM!**_

"BACK!" As she screamed the final word as loud as her lungs allowed, she brought down her fist, when a lance joined it and pierced clean through the creature's head, obliterating it.

"A-Ashely-san, above you!" Namiko cried out.

The redhead snapped out of her rage, looking above to see a faint visage of a warrior maiden upon a winged creature. A lock on her chest shattered, and she slowly reached to her chest only for her hand to sink inside.

The shriek of agony was beyond description.

As Namiko and Ryuko were about to intervene, Ashely retracted her hand, holding an emblem in the form of a jewel encrusted shield ring. "Never again… will I let others suffer because of me!"

With a resounding battle cry, the maiden manifested fully, revealing herself to be a majestic valkyrie, a creature identical to that of Durga.

"**I am the guiding guardian, the flying iceborne protector, whose lance will pierce the heavens and blade call down Valhalla's wrath! I am VALKYRIE, and should you shed your weakness and break the cage on your wrath, I promise to grant you the strength to defend those you care for forevermore!"**

"…Valkyrie." Ashely proclaimed, repeating what words she could hear. "Together… we'll protect them all." She finished, before collapsing where she stood, out cold.

Namiko looked to Ryuko, still clearly in a state of shock. "N-Now what…?"

Grunting in pain, Ryuko pushed herself to her feet, her body feeling like one massive bruise. "D'ya mind carrying Ashe? I can walk, but I don't think she's gonna be conscious for a while…"

Namiko nodded and, with some supernatural help from Bolas, managed to lift the redhead.

"_You need to leave. More Shadows could be right outside this arena."_

Namiko quickly shook his head in agreement. "B-Bolas is right, I think if I just-"

_FWOOM_

The moment the boy held his free hand out, he was nearly blown over even with Ashe weighing him down as a tear in reality appeared in front of him.

"C'mon, let's go!" Namiko ordered, hurrying Ryuko by shoving her through himself before jumping in after her.

* * *

"...ey."

"Nnngh…"

"Hey!" The voice repeated, and Ryuko was shaken awake by Namiko. In the distance she could hear an ambulance, rapidly approaching.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and she attempted to sit up. "GAH, SON OF A-" Pain shot through her body, and her skin suddenly felt like it caught fire, before she lay back down, wincing in pain.

There was a commotion all around as officers and construction personnel were pushing the bystanders out of the way. It was evident at least a couple hours had passed since they went in, despite it feeling like a blur in Ryuko's mind. The sun had set, streetlights were on, and the only reason she knew it wasn't a dream was the pain coursing through her as well as Namiko trying in vain to wake Ashely.

"How the hell are we gonna explain this?" Ryuko muttered to herself. "I guess neither of us can just run away, huh?"

"Please keep a safe distance!"

"Is anyone injured?!"

"Hey! There are some kids on the ground over there!"

"Well, shit." Ryuko resisted the urge to facepalm, lest she get hurt even worse. "This day just keeps getting better and better…"

Namiko covered his head in panic as a medical worker ran over, the ambulance she'd heard earlier now parked nearby. "Hey, are you alright?"

Namiko didn't even protest as Ashe was carefully placed on a stretcher, looking to Ryuko clearly distraught.

"Well, ignoring the fact that everything hurts, I'm doing fine," Ryuko coughed out sarcastically. "So what happened? I hit my head, so everything's fuzzy."

The paramedic helped her up. "You better come as well. We had a report saying three figures stumbled out of the building after an explosion from the gas leak. You could be experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning."

Without any chance to protest Ryuko was gently but forcefully led into the ambulance alongside Namiko, an EMT in the back with them.

"_An explosion, huh? Well, that's as good an explanation as any,"_ Ryuko thought to herself. _"I don't think I could possibly explain what the hell happened back there. I barely understand myself…"_

* * *

_ l_

_9 : 4 2 p m_

"Namiko, I told you, I'm fine, alright?" Ryuko sighed out. "Look, I get you're worried, but it's really not that bad!"

Namiko wasn't the least bit convinced. "I'm not letting you out of the bed! End of story!" The medium sighed. "I...I'm still trying to take in everything that happened. The last thing I need is you doing something before I've even figured out what's going on…"

"Pfft. If _you're_ clueless about all this, then I _know_ things have gotten weird," Ryuko snarked.

"Keep it down…" Ashe murmured, wincing in pain as she pulled a pillow over her head.

"At least Ashely-san is alright…" Namiko said with another sigh. After a moment of silence he seemed to have a realization. "...Hey, Ryuko-chan. You mentioned a dream you had, didn't you? Back when I gave you a reading?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Namiko shrugged. "I just...thought maybe it could help explain what's going on. Like I said, that dream was probably some sort of vision or prophecy. Even Bolas isn't quite sure what just happened.

At that a voice projected into Ryuko's head. "_I've never seen a Shadow who took the form of of a living person."_

"He says he's never even seen something like that…" Namiko repeated.

"Do you… always repeat everything he says?" Ryuko asked.

Namiko shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I mean, it's not like people can…" He stopped short before raising his head. "Wait, how did you-?!"

"_Perhaps something about traveling THERE altered her perception?"_

"I guess?" Ryuko shrugged, before immediately regretting it. "Ngh! Whatever's going on, I'm hearing voices in my head now…"

"I said shut yer traps…" Ashe groaned, too weak to raise her voice.

"_We should let them rest. We don't have much of a choice."_

Namiko hung his head in defeat. "I… I guess." He made his way to the door before turning back to them. "I'll take care of explaining things to the college. Ryuko, you especially don't try anything stupid, otherwise that gash in your shoulder could open up a third time."

"You kidding? Stupid's my specialty!" Ryuko laughed.

As the door clicked shut, Ashe let out an incoherent growl before turning on her side.

"_Welp, nothing left to do now,"_ Ryuko thought to herself. _"Guess all I can do is… sleep…"_ Before she knew it, Ryuko had drifted off, the throes of unconsciousness once more calling her.

* * *

A swirl of familiar blue, a curtain of darkness, and electronica in the distance growing closer.

"…_Welcome._"

"Huh…?" Ryuko slowly opened her eyes, her head pounding. Gone was the hospital room and the stiff bed. Instead, Ryuko found herself lying face-first onto a mahogany bar. "What the…"

With a slam of a door behind her she found herself on a velvet lined couch, the same long nosed man from before across from her. The "new" brute was behind the bar as before but now the woman previously seen behind a music booth was now by the man's side, said man chuckling darkly. "It would seem your power has very much indeed come to fruition. How does it feel, wielding such a frightful power as what you possess?"

"JESUS!" Seeing the ever-so-odd face of the long-nosed man, Ryuko scrambled back, clutching at her heart. "What the… It's you! Boss Long Nose!"

A slight twitch of the already bulging eyes keyed her in to watch her tongue. "...Igor, if you'd please."

Igor gestured to the table and Ryuko realized there was now a set of three cards on the table, numbered 0, 8, and 18. "Your journey has now truly begun. What wonders and horrors await you, I wonder? The only thing certain for now: the power of Persona is at your command!"

"Persona… you mean like Durga?" Ryuko asked.

Igor nodded and smiled even wider. "This power, it is the power of one's own heart made manifest. What you do with that power, though, is up to you."

The girl, Elizabeth, stepped forward. Her voice was soft, especially compared to Alexander, but something about it was...off. Something hidden, something ever so slightly unnerving. "We exist to provide many different services to those with such a power, as per the contract you have given your signature. As your journey marches onward, more of this place will become available to you. In due time, however, Alexander and myself will be at your disposal for a variety of goods and services only we can provide."

A gruff from behind the bar was the most Alexander contributed.

Igor's grin was unwavering. "And as you return, you will find yourself stronger every visit."

"Stronger?" Ryuko looked down, patting her chest as the words sunk in. "How… how can something that powerful get _stronger_?"

Igor chuckled. "The power of Persona is the ability to control one's heart. The heart is strengthened by bonds. As you form bonds and your fate becomes intertwined with that of others, your own Social Links will take root and, with nurturing, blossom into unbreakable bonds." There was a gleam in his eyes. "…But a bond unbreakable is never forged easily. Take heed of such things, lest you make your own journey more difficult. Never forget that the power of these Social Links will be the determining factor in your Persona's abilities."

"So what does this have to do with you three?" Ryuko asked. "How can you help me with these… bonds?"

"All will be made clear in time." Igor replied cryptically. "Simply go forth and forge the bonds you so desire, and our own services will open up to you. THEN you will understand."

"And," Elizabeth piped up, "Should you choose, there are other… ventures for you, as it were, that I will tell you of when the time is right."

Before Ryuko could ask anything, a sudden haze swept over her and everything rapidly faded.

"Go now, return to the waking world." Igor ordered. "We will be waiting as always…"

* * *

**Pr: YOU. HAVE. NO. IDEA. WHAT I WENT THROUGH. TO GET THIS CHAPTER FINISHED.**

**AG: I told you I was sorry!**

**PR: FE7 still isnt dead, i know i keep saying it without change but i worry people dont believe me when i say i aint letting it end without closure and i have a lot planned already, which i understand i mean im not lacking THAT much self awareness. But similarly hopefully y'all understand I've got a lot on my plate right now like most people in this fucking country do. I've decided im not gonan try and force anything and if creativity comes so be it. If it doesnt, well then first thing when quarentine ends and the world stops being a crapsack, i'll have a sitdown and try to knuckle down on it. In the meanwhile I'm just writing whatever I'm inspired to and in the moment that's persona.**

**AG: Yeah... gotta admit, I've been struggling to keep motivation in terms of writing. My motivation is always fleeting and never seems to focus on one thing for long, no matter how hard I try. Hell, right now, I'm working on some Fate/Grand Order related writings. I promise I'm not dead, just very very sporadic!**

**Pr: and that's the status. Hope this over 9k chapter at least somewhat makes up for things!**

"Shadow" Ashe Human form: AG

"Shadow" Ashe transformed: IQ


End file.
